Kisses are a better fate
by calloutyoru
Summary: Kagami is suddenly kissed. Aomine acts before he thinks. Kuroko smiles.
1. Kiss 001

**Title**: Kisses are a better fate

**Disclaimer**: Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.

**Rating**: T (followed by a shaky questionmark...)

**Setting**: In universe, sometime during and/or post Winter Cup.

**Spoilers/warnings**: Vague references to the Winter Cup, albeit no match result spoilers. Mentions/direct involvement of characters who have only yet appeared in the manga. BL content.

**Characters dancing to my tune**: Kagami, Kuroko, Aomine. Mainly.

**A/N**: My original intention with this project was to write a series of loosely linked, kiss-themed short stories; which I kind of did, although my imagination derailed somewhere along the road, ahem. So, no denying it: this is irrefutably evolving into an AoKagaKuro-romance of sorts, if with a somewhat experimental structure and a slightly different take on Kuroko. That said, I hope you will enjoy it for what it is!

**********Thank you**: _EudaimonArisornae_, forever and ever.

* * *

kisses are a better fate  
than wisdom.  
~e.e. cummings

* * *

Kiss 001

* * *

English was so much easier when talking. This grammar part of it did not make any sense. Why add loads of letters here and there you could not even _hear _when spoken? Kagami let his forehead fall to the table, groaning.

"Are you alright, Kagami-kun?"

"Hnnn," Kagami grunted in response, turning his head to the boy next to him, cheek still connected with the cool wooden desk.

Kuroko looked at him with round eyes for a moment, before resuming copying notes on Japanese history.

"We have to pass this exam, or coach will scold us," he stated, non-descript as ever.

Kagami stared at the notes spread over the table, feeling frustrated and tired and fed up with homework. His level of motivation could not be any closer to zero. He wanted to play basketball, not stay in his apartment _studying _god-knows-what-pointless-stuff every single afternoon.

Glancing over at Kuroko, he was unconsciously entranced by the movements of the pen scratching over the paper, and the small hand holding it, noting historical events and meaningless dates. Really, those slim fingers were not meant to hold on to a pen. Those fingertips should be connected to a basketball, pushing it with just the right amount of pressure, in just the right direction... _His direction_.

Kagami shook his head in an attempt to clear out the sounds of bouncing balls and shoes squeaking against the gym floor, which came with the fantasies. _Right, relative adverbs..._ What was that, anyway? Absently amazed at his own short span of attention, he scratched his head.

Kuroko was right of course, he needed to get his shit together in order to pass the next exam. If he failed, he might as well drop dead. Or else he had a horrible suspicion coach would assist in the process of killing him. An awfully realistic image of Aida Riko's fearful dark figure looming over him popped up in his head.

"You'd save me if I was getting strangled to death by a fire-breathing cave-monster-woman, right?" he muttered, suddenly feeling a little queasy.

"I'm much smaller than Kagami-kun."

"That's not the point!" Kagami snapped, "I'm out cold and I might die and all! Would you save me or not?!"

Kuroko tilted his head to the side, seemingly a little bit curious, although there was no way to tell if he really was.

"I'd ask if she would consider letting you go."

Kagami let out a frustrated growl and ran a hand over his face.

"Alright, alright... I guess that's good enough," he sighed, wondering why the hell he was even thinking about this nonsense. _Oh right, English something-verbs..._

"Kagami-kun seems sidetracked." Kuroko's monotone voice held a surprising amount of observation.

"No kidding..." Kagami started, ready to retell the Riko-dooms-day-prediction-flash – when he felt a pair of lips pressed against his own. The touch was ever so light, yet weirdly _unapologetic._

He was locked in place by those soft lips.

Granted, Kagami Taiga had never been overly bright. At least not in a way that pleased academic teachers. He was gifted with a different sort of intelligence, a raw kind of quality which was connected to his physical abilities. Yet, at this instant, even this innate ability of his was no good. He could not move a single limb at will.

He was stupid at all levels.

Stupid, confused, panicking and _hot all over._

Kuroko pulled back. Deadpan expression on, the smaller boy rocked back on his heels, eyes gazing straight at him.

Kagami's brain cells were still on strike. His head and body swam with disorderly emotions and thoughts, and he had no idea which one to grab as they floated by. Was he even capable of _talking_?

"St-t-t... I can't.. Kiss?! W-why...?! Wha- what?!"

Apparently not.

"Kisses cure distraction."

Kagami stared. Kuroko stared back.

"I don't know who taught you that..." Kagami mumbled, while wiping his face with the back of his hand to hide his embarrassingly burning cheeks. "But kisses _are_ a distraction, damnit."


	2. Kiss 002

Kiss 002

* * *

The faint smell of cherry flavoured chewing gum preceded Momoi Satsuki. Walking alongside Kuroko on their way back from school, Kagami was neither surprised nor pleased at her sudden appearance. He found her a little bothersome at times, presumably. He watched her make for the inevitable glomp upon noticing Kuroko.

"Tetsu-kuuun!"

"You're suffocating me, Momoi-san," came Kuroko's voice from somewhere inside the cloud of flowing pink hair and starry eyes and bubbly laughter that was her embrace.

Kagami scowled, feeling the urge to drag the two apart, when his attention was caught by the tall figure sauntering behind the Touou coach. Slightly slouching, with his hands stuffed in his pockets, Aomine Daiki was looking his usual-bored-out-of-his-mind-self. With the addition of a grudging, fierce glint in his eyes, barely visible as he cast Kagami a glance, setting his heart rhythm off beat. It had not been there before the Winter Cup.

"You should let go of Tetsu," the dark-skinned boy drawled, eyes directed elsewhere in a display of indifference.

It pissed Kagami off, not being greeted, the arrogance, the whole goddamn existence known as Touou's monstrous, brilliant ace player. Yet he kind of approved of what he said, for once.

"Whyyy, when we've come all this way just to see Tetsu-kun! You're so mean, Dai-chan," Momoi pouted, pressing up if-possible-even-closer to Kuroko as she spoke. The smaller boy did not show any sort of reaction to the girl's closeness. In fact, he was just his usual apathetic self.

"Why did you want to see me?" Kuroko asked flatly, looking straight at Aomine.

"Hell if I know. Satsuki dragged me here babbling about how she wanted to see you and that idiot over there," he shrugged, obviously referring to Kagami. The redhead clenched his fists, ready to spit out something equally insulting about brainless jerks, when Momoi cut him off.

"_I _wanted to see Tetsu-kun! I wanna go on an after-school-date with him again," she beamed, temporarily letting go of Kuroko as he turned to Aomine. "Kagamin is all for you, Dai-chan."

With that, she swung around and reattached herself to Kuroko's arm, pulling him along down the street, chirping happily. As he was dragged off, Kuroko glanced at Aomine and Kagami over his shoulder – innocent blue eyes completely fucking unreadable – before he was out of sight.

Kagami felt a sudden pang of irritation. Why did that chick always feel the need to get so damn close to Kuroko wherever and whenever she pleased? He clenched his jaw in frustration. The lack of restraint Kuroko showed in Momoi-matters vexed him too, for some reason.

"Tetsu kissed you." Aomine's voice was matter-of-factly.

"Wh-what?!" Kagami sputtered, caught off guard and immediately panicking, as he felt his face go hot. "What bullshit are you spouting—"

He was silenced by Aomine's chuckle, and the sudden proximity between them as the boy turned around and faced him in a split second, using all the limitless speed he was known to possess on the basketball court. Intentionally ignoring his comfort zone, Aomine leaned in close to scrutinize his red cheeks.

Kagami's heart made a somersault. He wanted nothing but get away, yet he could not tear his gaze from the smirk slowly spreading across Aomine's face, and the midnight blue eyes watching him intently. It was impossible to tell whether he was pissed or amused.

"That bastard," Aomine said in a low voice, which possibly carried a hint of annoyance – Kagami was not given time to reflect upon it, as the ever-so-slightly taller boy forcefully and without warning grabbed him by the collar and smashed their lips together.

Kagami staggered, momentarily fighting absolute confusion.

Stupidity hovered helpfully at the corner of his mind, ready to rush to the rescue at any approaching emergency, but was sort of rudely pushed aside by a more comprehensible emotion._ Excitement_. The touch of those demanding lips effectively caused his brain cells to go into standby mode while his physical capacity went on full-on power.

Hence, there was little rational thinking involved in the way he responded to the kiss. His primal instincts practically raged, as he reached up and grabbed the other boy's neck, and pulled him in deeper. Aomine let out a muffled groan of appreciation, and possibly surprise, at this, and the sound made Kagami feel inexplicably agitated, as he furiously fought back the tongue trying to invade his mouth.

The Touou Ace showed no signs of resignation however. Agile, skilled and powerful... his kissing resembled his basketball style. _That's fucking arousing_. Kagami bit down hard on the other's lower lip in order to make it clear he was not about to give in, rejoicing at the taste of blood spreading on his tongue, before resolutely pushing the other boy away.

Aomine's eyes were widened in surprise as he stepped back, wiping blood off his mouth with the back of his hand. Kagami looked into those uncharacteristically round eyes without blinking. He knew he was a panting mess, and the hard-on straining against his jeans was almost painful, but he did not plan to lose to this guy anytime soon.

This seemed to slowly become clear to Aomine too. His eyes were shining, and the grin on his lips was the closest to cheerful Kagami had ever seen on him. Off court, that was. He had seen that expression on Aomine's face once before, during the Winter Cup, facing him. Breathless exhilaration.

In the next moment, Touou's star player turned around, resuming his leisurely gait down the street as if nothing had happened. Kagami stared at his back in disbelief.

"The hell?!" he shouted after the boy, unable to contain his frustration.

"You looked a little distracted, Kaga_min_." Aomine smiled over his shoulder. "Just that."


	3. Kiss 003

Kiss 003

* * *

He had started to come here again.

At this deserted, worn-down street ball court forgotten amongst asphalt and graffiti-covered walls and high fences, Aomine was at the top of his game.

A long time ago, he used to practise his heart out at places like these, picking up the street style of basketball before any coach had the chance to tell him what was right or wrong. That was, before. Before he surpassed them all. Before it started to bore him senseless.

The present was yet again different.

Aomine relished in the way the ball felt against his finger pads and the cool evening air filling his lungs. Sweat beaded on his skin, hotly trickling down his face and arms as his muscles tensed up and he charged forward, fuelled by the memory of red, sparkling eyes _challenging_ him.

His brain followed the movements of his body rather than the opposite, as he let out his explosive power in a fast dribble, a blink-of-an-eye change of pace, following a cross-over switch, before he turned within a heartbeat; scoring effortlessly from the division line.

Wiping the sweat off his face with the front of his shirt, the Ace of Touou felt a smile tug at his features as he ran and fetched the ball. _Damn, this was really..._

A faint _sluuurp_ made him stop dead in his tracks.

Kuroko was seated on the bench next to the court where he had left his belongings, drinking a milkshake while impassively staring right at him.

"Damnit, Tetsu!" Aomine growled. "Don't do that!"

"Do what?" Kuroko said in a questioning tone, tilting his head to the side in a gesture of innocence.

Although Aomine knew him well enough to wonder how genuine that innocence actually was, he exhaled slowly and ran a hand over his face. He, if anyone, should be used to this.

"It's just... it's been a while." He muttered, feeling his face soften against his will. Now when Tetsu was here, it felt even more like the old days.

"What do you want, anyways?" he asked as he walked up to the bench and picked up his hoodie, pulling it over his head.

"I thought Aomine-kun might be playing. I came to watch."

"You're late, I was just leaving." Aomine shrugged in an act of unconcern, although he was fighting back a smile.

"I've seen enough."

Kuroko's voice held that special-little-something, which Aomine had learnt to apprehend a long time ago, a low purr underneath the layers of monotony. He slowly turned his eyes to the other boy, already sort of knowing what he would see in those blue pools of mysteries.

_Mischief._

The smaller boy did not stand. He merely grabbed Aomine's hoodie laces and tugged them, so that the taller teen was forced to lean in, bringing their lips together. Kuroko's tongue was cold and tasted like vanillashake. As it playfully met with his though, Aomine felt a warm tingle spread through his body – defrosting, _soothing. _

For some reason, that was the effect Kuroko had always had on him.

Aomine straightened his back when the blue-haired little devil broke the kiss and let go off his laces, face betraying no emotion.

"You're the same as always, Tetsu," he half-smiled, half-scowled.

"Same could be said for Aomine-kun," stated Kuroko. He picked up a magazine from Aomine's open bag. "You're still into this type of girls, right?" he asked, pointing at the incredibly busty girl on the cover.

The dark-skinned boy grinned.

"Well, yeah. I guess."

"Then how about Alex?"

"Huuuuh? What about her?" Aomine frowned, clueless as to what Kuroko was getting at.

"She has big boobs. Yet, you never look at her."

"That's cause she's always with Kagami." Aomine replied before thinking.

Kuroko dropped the magazine and picked up his milkshake again. Straw in mouth, he gave Aomine a long look.

"What difference does it make if she is?"

Aomine blinked. His thoughts were suddenly in disarray.

Being one of few persons able to detect the rascality hidden beneath Kuroko's guiltless appearance, Aomine did not miss the hint. He used to love that side of Tetsu. Yet now, he felt inexplicably uncomfortable. For the first time, Kuroko's direct stare bothered him.

Looking away, he awkwardly scratched his head.

"He's special," he mumbled. "It's that... the kind you can't keep your eyes off, even if you try."

_Silence. _

Aomine was surprised to notice how fast his heart was beating, and he turned to the other boy feeling oddly apprehensive. He met with the rarest, most beautiful thing.

Kuroko was smiling.

"I know," he said.


	4. Kiss 004

Kiss 004

* * *

No matter how hard he tried, Kagami Taiga could not focus. If concentrating in class had been difficult before, it had now turned into a downright impossibility.

Listening to a teacher going on about whatever had never been his strong point, but at least he had been able to concentrate if he poured all of his energy into the subject at hand. When he attempted this now, all he got was blurry fragments of blue, which in a mysterious way prevented all other types of information from entering his brain.

It was an entirely new level of being distracted.

Glaring at the teen seated at the desk in front of him, Kagami grudgingly noticed that he had no difficulties whatsoever with focusing on _him. _Kuroko came off as annoyingly clueless, as he haphazardly flipped through his books, chin rested in the cup of his hand.

_Not a problem in the world, huh?_

Kagami scowled, spinning his pencil on his fingers absentmindedly. He was just thinking he ought to take some notes, when a puff of wind, coming from the open window in the back of the classroom, caught his papers. Reflexively, he slammed his hand down over them to stop them from flying off – bringing about a loud _bang _– which earned him a look of disapproval from the professor.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Kagami flattened the papers and picked up the pencil again. Why was it, he always got himself into trouble in class, while Kuroko, on the other hand, had a knack for staying out of it. He pensively regarded his teammate's small back, while letting the pen spin fast around his thumb. The wind momentarily caught some strands of light blue hair, exposing a pale neck above the school uniform collar. Crimson eyes strayed to the patch of unnaturally white skin. It looked really smooth, and frankly, quite delicious.

A small hand shot out in front of him. Without turning around, Kuroko dropped a small piece of paper on his desk. Kagami stared at it. No one else had taken notice. Kuroko's lack of presence was really useful in a classroom, after all.

Picking it up, he felt the urge to smile. _Seriously, a note in class? What kind of shoujo manga set-up is th..._

"_Stop staring. It creeps me out."_

...

"I'M NOT! You..."

The entire classroom had gone dead silent.

Unlike Kuroko, Kagami Taiga had quite a lot of presence. As he half-stood in his seat with the crumpled note in his clenched fist, and smoke practically seeping out of his ears – all eyes were inevitably turned to him. Kuroko placidly regarded him with his head cocked to the side, emitting an air of questioning innocence. _Why, you little..._

"As pleased as I am to notice you're not sleeping today, Kagami-kun," coughed the teacher, "I'd prefer it if you'd remain seated, and – if possible – silent."

A giggle broke out among the students, and Kagami mumbled an awkward excuse as he sat down again, boiling with irritation. He could have sworn he saw something awfully similar to mirth dance over Kuroko's features before he turned around in his chair.

Kagami spent the remaining thirty minutes of class silently fuming, until it made him tired and he dozed off with his head upon his books. He was on the verge of falling asleep when a well-known, toneless voice called him back to reality.

"Kagami-kun."

Sleepily lifting his head, he looked up at Kuroko. The boy stood motionless in front of his desk, with a pile of books in his hands. The redhead concluded the lesson must be over, as he glanced about the classroom and found it empty but for a few students still lingering at the door. It was already late afternoon, and the sun was setting outside the windows.

"Whaddaya want?" he growled while drowsily stretching his arms above his head.

Kuroko put down his pile of books on his desk, saying nothing.

"Hey, if you want something just –"

Kagami's words got stuck somewhere on the way.

Pale lips were suddenly unbearably close to his, and _the wheel of time_ _freaking stopped turning_, again. Raising his notebook to hide their faces, Kuroko leaned in and gently kissed him on the lips. It lasted a second or two, but it was enough to send a jolt of electricity zigzag'ing through his body, before the smaller boy wordlessly pulled back.

Struggling to not enter stupidity-mode, Kagami stared into the blue nothingness that was Kuroko's gaze. His lips tingled strangely and his heart raced, and he had a horrible misgiving his inner turmoil was written all over his face. Which was certainly not the case with Kuroko Tetsuya.

Phantom players tell no tales.

"I don't get it," he muttered finally, averting his gaze. "You're pissing me off, Kuroko."

"Why?"

"That's my line! Why do you always –" Kagami angrily trailed off, unsure of how to express his confusion without sounding like a teenage girl in love.

Kuroko sighed. Not in a dejected way, more like... in a soft-borderline-to-amused-way.

"There's a note for Kagami-kun," he said, picking up his books. Before Kagami had the chance to ask what he was talking about, he had walked off.

Cursing under his breath, the power forward of Seirin started to collect his own scattered books and papers. Lately people seemed intent to confuse the hell out of him and it was beyond infuriating. He might be a simple person but things like these were damn difficult to brush aside...

As he lifted his notebook to stuff it into his bag, a small piece of folded paper fluttered across the desk. Kagami eyed it suspiciously. _A note. _He was totally aware that the best thing to do in this situation would be to just trash it. Totally aware.

He unfolded it slowly, almost gingerly.

On it, a graphite heart was drawn.


	5. Kiss 005

Kiss 005

* * *

"I've been looking for you, Dai-chan! You're late for class!"

Reluctantly opening his eyes, not at all pleased with the disruption of his habitual rooftop afternoon nap, the ace of Touou squinted up at Momoi's pouting face. Her hands were placed on her hips.

"You're blocking out the sun, Satsuki," he yawned.

The pink haired girl puffed up her cheeks indignantly, but sat down nonetheless. Her large breasts bumped softly with the movement, stretching the fabric of her white shirt. Aomine stared at them, momentarily fascinated, and grinned inwardly.

Momoi was in the middle of saying something, probably scolding him for cutting class, when he impulsively reached up and grabbed the collar of her school uniform. Her voice died out as he pulled her dumbfounded face downwards, into a kiss. Her trembling lips pressed against his for a moment.

In the next, she scrambled backwards on her hands and feet, looking downright horrified.

"K-kiss... My... My first.. Kiss... taken... by ... Dai-chan... I.. never..." she rambled incoherently, clasping a hand over her mouth.

Aomine sluggishly dragged himself into sitting position, thoughtfully touching his lips. It was not like it was unpleasant, kissing Satsuki. Then again, it was not particularly exciting, either._ Not in comparison..._

"Dai-chan is the worst... I had saved that kiss... for Tetsu-kun..."

The atmosphere had become dangerously oppressive. Glancing over at Momoi's darkening face, Aomine concluded she had gone from shocked to murderous. One could practically smell the killing intent she gave off, as she slowly got to her feet.

"Tetsu's first kiss..." he began, but trailed off, changing his mind. Telling Satsuki about that would not improve current matters. "Nevermind," he shrugged, deciding that this game only had one remaining option – escape route.

Luckily, Aomine was quite the agile one. Leaping to his feet within a heartbeat, he dodged Momoi's flying kick, but just barely. Fury obviously added to the girl's attack power. It was fortunate he was faster, honestly. He made for the edge of the roof and jumped off, landing softly on the ground in a crouch. Students still on their lunch breaks gave him curious looks as he straightened his back and glanced upwards.

The death glare he received made him wish he had not. Surprised it had actually not killed him on the spot, he hurried off.

"Jeeez, relax... Just testing something out, just testing..." he muttered to himself, as he slid into the nearest school building. Really, he could see no reason as to why someone would get so riled up just because of one little kiss...

He stopped in his tracks, hit by a sudden thought and a nagging, inescapable feeling.

If that was the case – how come he could not get his mind off of kissing that Seirin idiot? Unbidden, the memory of that little episode flooded his senses. He could almost feel the strong fingers caressing his neck and taste the hot blood on his lips from that time.

It was not the first time this thought crossed his mind.

Spotting a restroom ahead of him in the corridor, the tall ace player of Touou made his way there, suddenly in desperate need of some privacy. To his relief, he found it empty. Taking a deep breath as he leaned over the washbasin, he wondered distantly why someone as impulse-driven as him would have these useless thoughts. He glared downwards, as if his friend down there was somehow to blame.

Fantasizing about idols did not do it for him recently; not even Horihata Mai, who had proven to be 100% effective in that regard. A daily habit which always had been something of a pleasant routine had turned into a disturbing phenomenon he could not quite understand, or much less, control.

Running his hands over his face, Aomine groaned in frustration. Only thinking about it ticked him off. How gentle, violet eyes kept turning into fiercely red ones. How soft, big breasts were replaced by a flat, muscled chest. How each time his mind played him this little transformation trick – he got totally horny.

Aomine closed his eyes in order shut off his brain's buzzing over pointless stuff, but it was a futile attempt by now. His heart was already speeding in restless excitement and blocking out the voice of reason in an annoyingly familiar way. And amidst it all, he had this revolting thought crashing his systems, subtly reminding him of who he was.

_Since when did I give a shit about doing things the way they're supposed to be done?_

He turned towards the bathroom cubicles, allowing himself a mental picture of a sweating Kagami Taiga in the Seirin jersey, gaze sparkling with defiance and eyebrows intently furrowed... The heat was suddenly unbearable. Aomine emitted a repressed grunt as he stepped into the stall, slamming the door closed.


	6. Kiss 006

Kiss 006

* * *

"I'm going in here," Momoi exclaimed, pointing at a display window of a shop selling sports accessories and clothes. Her cheeks were tinted a suspicious shade of red.

"But it's for m-" Aomine began, but the girl was already gone, a wisp of pink hair disappearing through the automatic doors. _For fuck's sake..._

Dejected, he followed. It was a mystery she had managed to talk him into this to begin with. In retrospective, Aomine questioned his own reasoning. To go shopping with Satsuki for god-knows-what-it-was-she-wanted really was not on the list of his top priorities, but he had not exactly been in a position to refuse, either. The girl seemed hell-bent on making him pay for the rooftop-incident in every way possible.

The store was filled with various sports equipment, shoes, clothes – and teenage boys. Looking around, Aomine spotted neither Satsuki nor a female department. Running a hand through his hair, he let out a frustrated sigh. This was a waste of time. _Why did she insist on going in here anyway? _Deciding to wait outside, he sauntered towards the exit. He was already spacing out, thinking about whether or not to go to practise later, when something red flashed in the periphery of his vision. He turned slowly in the direction of the fitting rooms.

The shock of red hair partly visible over the top of that stall door could only belong to one person.

The decision to move was taken on an unconscious level. Truly. Aomine found himself walking towards the fitting rooms before his brain could properly process it, unsure of why the hell his heart seemed intent on beating its way straight out of his ribcage. In the end he was helpless against the force dragging him in the direction of that luminous, magnetic presence.

He pulled the door open.

Kagami was taking his sweatshirt off. The muscles of his broad back flexed slightly with the movement and the collar was ruffling his hair a little. He wore a scowl as if he found it all to be something of a bother. That expression quickly changed however, as he looked into the mirror and noticed Aomine standing in the doorframe, insouciantly eyeing him top to toe.

"Wh–" Kagami spun around, but Aomine had already stepped into the small stall.

Grinning as he glimpsed the initial shock in those crimson eyes, Aomine closed the door behind him. In doing so he practically erased any distance between them, as it was a one-person fitting room, and in all honesty, they were both abnormally large for their age. Their chests were centimetres apart. Kagami's narrow eyes were flashing with unreadable emotions.

"Why're you here?!" he growled under his breath.

Aomine did not feel like responding. He did not know what to say anyway.

Instead, he moved forward by grabbing Kagami's neck and pushed him backwards, against the wall. The other boy gasped, and Aomine leaned in and attacked the slightly parted lips, feeling reason slip further from his grasp in the process. _Like I care._

The taste of Kagami Taiga was a great deal more interesting.

Just like last time, he met with maddening resistance. Yet, there was nothing hesitant about the way Kagami responded, grabbing the fabric of his jacket as he pressed against him. Aomine allowed himself to be led by that sinfully hot tongue for a moment.

People said the ace player of Seirin High resembled a wild tiger. _They have no fucking idea how right they are. _Kagami kissed with the intensity of someone who did not know anything but the fight. In fact, those hungry, unyielding lips awoke the slumbering beast within Aomine – driving him practically insane with insatiable need.

He threaded his fingers through the other boy's dark red hair, then let one hand slide down his neck, heart hammering away in a frenzy of sorts. Kagami's back was delightfully muscled and surprisingly smooth at the same time. Aomine's fingertips tingled hotly at the connection, and he instinctively ground against the other, knowing very well what the pulsating, sweet pain growing in his pants meant.

He was just way past caring at this point.

"I—" he breathed into Kagami's ear, ready to confess his physical predicament and presumably that he used to jerk off thinking of him, too; when the door to the fitting room opened.

Round, blue eyes took in the scene without indicating any kind of shock, or even surprise.

"Ku-kuroko," stuttered Kagami, as he pushed Aomine away with one arm, blushing deeply. "I... this... I mean..."

"I met with Momoi-san."

"I don't... what..?" Kagami trailed off.

"She wants to go eat ramen. I said I'd ask you two if you wanted to come, too."

Kuroko inclined his head to the side and regarded them inexpressively.

"How did you..." Kagami began, then shook his head. "Ramen?!"

"Mm," Kuroko nodded.

Aomine smirked inwardly. _That little demon. _Satsuki's impulse-decision to enter this store suddenly lost its mysterious component.

Giving Kagami's bare chest a last look, Aomine stepped out of the stall, seizing his former shadow by the collar as he walked out.

"We'll be waiting outside," he announced as he dragged Kuroko off.


	7. Kiss 006 EXTRA

Kiss 006 EXTRA

* * *

"The hell is up with this guy, he seriously intend to eat all that?" Aomine frowned, eyeing the mountain of food in front of Kagami skeptically.

"Shut up," growled the red-haired teen through a mouthful of ramen. "And don't talk about me like I'm not here, bastard."

"That's cause it would be a hundred times better if you weren't, idiot."

"Then don't fucking come in the first place!"

"I'm hungry. Got a problem with that?" Aomine retorted, emptying a plate of yakitori in his rice bowl.

"Dai-chan ordered a lot, too," remarked Momoi cheerfully.

That was absolutely true. The opposite half of the table was practically encumbered with plates and bowls; it was something of a mystery it had not tipped over already. Kuroko looked down at his own lonely bowl, then glanced at Momoi's – they were definitely the lightweights here. In more ways than one.

As a result of the girl's insistence, Kuroko sat next to her, and the power forwards of Seirin and Touou were forced to share the other bench. It did not sit quite right with either of them. Kuroko regarded them thoughtfully, slurping his ramen and listening to Momoi happily chattering away simultaneously.

Kagami was obvious in his attempt to ignore the other, defiantly stuffing his mouth with udon noodles while continuously glancing at him from under his bangs. Aomine thought he concealed his agitation perfectly well, as he gulped down a bowl with broth in two swallows, before wiping his mouth lazily in an act of indifference. His fingers trembled, though.

It amused Kuroko to no end.


	8. Kiss 007

Kiss 007

* * *

Kagami Taiga was having a sweet-sticky dream.

That in itself was neither a surprise nor a problem; he was a healthy teenager after all - that kind of thing sort of comes with the package. Really. He was just a completely normal, slightly-under-average-intelligent boy, waking up with a completely normal, slightly-over-average-sized morning wood.

Kagami rolled onto his side as the familiar feeling of arousal made itself known between his legs, trying desperately to ignore it, as well as the reason for it, but to no avail. Tempting dream memories lingered on him; the touch of soft lips and teasing hands leaving a fading, tingling presence on his skin. The red-haired teen shivered involuntarily.

Honestly, he would have appreciated his mind's ability to create such awesomely vivid dream scenarios, if it was not for their precise content. Which was _blue_. An awful lot of it. The higher amount of that colour, the stickier it was likely to become. Kagami buried his face in the pillow, groaning lowly. _The hell is wrong with me?_

It bothered him in ways he did not care to acknowledge when awake, and in ways too freaking good to resist when asleep. Oblivious to his half-hearted attempt to escape the memory of the dream, the primal part of his brain urged him to simply drift back into half-sleep, embracing the lustful visions once more.

Dreamland offered various shades of blue and mind-numbing pleasure. Sky and midnight. Cold and hot. Smooth and wild. He willingly let himself be kissed, knowing this was not real - consequences be damned.

An amused voice tumbled into his not-quite-awake state of mind.

"I didn't expect that passionate of a response, Taiga... I gotta say."

Kagami sat bolt upright in the bed, heart racing in confusion while his mind clumsily grasped for a one-way ticket back to reality. Through a haze of sleep-drunkenness, he discerned Alexandra Garcia's figure leaning over him.

"Awake now, are we?" smirked the blond woman while straightening her back, touching her lips playfully.

Kagami stared at her. _The kiss just now... _The realisation struck him bang on, mercilessly wiping away the last traces of post-sleep confusion. He suddenly felt horribly exposed, sitting half-naked on the bed in only a pair of boxers and sheets haphazardly spread about him.

"Don't just walk into people's bedrooms as you please!" he barked in English, clutching a sheet to his crotch while mentally cursing Alex's tendency to waltz into people's private zones without any second thoughts or scruples whatsoever.

_Next time she'll stay with Tatsuya, damnit._

The American acted like she did not hear him, merely eyeing him curiously while tapping a finger against her chin.

"So, who were you dreaming about just now, Taiga?"

Kagami blushed hard despite himself, suddenly acutely aware of his still-throbbing arousal, and consecutively reminded of the borderline illicit dream scenes causing it. He gripped the sheet tighter. Like hell he was going to tell her about... _blue._

"None of your business!" he snapped. "Besides don't go kiss a sleeping person, damnit!"

"But you looked _really _cute, all hot and bothered," Alex said, completely unabashed. "There was no way I could resist such a sight, you know."

"W-well," stuttered Kagami. "You're in Japan now – you'll have to learn to control that freaky habit of yours. People just don't go kiss each other randomly over here!"

Alex's eyes widened for a moment; then she chuckled.

"You saying no one kissed you randomly lately?"

Dumbfounded, Kagami stared at her.

_No way._

Misgivings fluttered disorderly through his brain as the implication sunk in, and memories of himself being in just that predicament ruthlessly conquered his mind. _Yes, someone kissed me out of the blue._ In this room, on the street, in school, in the fitting rooms. His shadow's soft-lipped, blunt advances and the Touou player's hot breath against his ear were suddenly on infinite replay within his head.

Chilling apprehension ate at Kagami's consciousness when reason hesitantly filtered through. Just because he had decided to push those events to the back of his mind did not mean it never happened, neither did it rule out the possibility of anyone spotting them.

But who?

Of course, Alex herself could have seen something, or otherwise figured it out; she was quite observant when it came down to it. Kagami could not decide what was worse, that, or that she would have picked it up from someone else.

He opened his mouth to reply, but failed in produce any sounds, so he closed it again. His brain seemed to have deemed it a good opportunity to go back to sleep. _Oi, this is not the time for snoozing! Wake the fuck up! _He reprimanded his drowsy, wobbly-legged brain cells, shaking his head in an attempt to violently will them into action.

It did not help much.

"What..?" His voice came out as a half-choked whisper.

Alex's smirk broadened.

"Yes or no? It's a rather simple question after all. Even for you."

"Apart from you – who would?!" Kagami sputtered. He was wishing intently for the blush he knew still decorated his cheeks to disappear already.

"Oh, I wonder."

The sing-song voice tipped the scales, and irritation pushed aside Kagami's temporal brain freeze.

"I don't get what you're on about, and I don't give a shit," he ground out through clenched jaws. "Just get out of my room already!"

He had had it with this twisted interrogation, his own incomprehensible reactions and above all; the smug look upon Alex's face. He sent a pillow flying in her direction, which, much to his satisfaction, hit her square in the face.

His former master just laughed, however. In fact, she looked like she was having tremendous amounts of fun as she picked up the pillow from the floor, placing it on the edge of the bed in an off-hand manner, practically purring.

"Hnn, hit a sore spot didn't I..."

Kagami had to inhale deeply, on top of reminding himself of the physical state he was in, to not rise and forcefully wipe that maddingly gleeful expression off of her face. He settled with twisting around in the bed, deciding to ignore her meddlesome existence altogether.

"Alright, alright, I get the hint... I'm leaving," came Alex's amused voice, from somewhere behind him. He remained silent, seething under his blanket until he heard her shuffling towards the door, continuously chuckling.

_Phew. _

Kagami was already in the process of trying to mentally wipe out the entire incident from his brain, when the American's voice floated across the room again, causing him to tense up.

"You talk in your sleep, Taiga. I bet you didn't know that."


	9. Kiss 008

Kiss 008

* * *

"I'm gonna kick Aomine-kun's ass," Kuroko announced in a flat voice. His eyes were dead serious.

"You're a hundred years too early, Tetsu" Aomine retorted derisively, eyebrow twitching. "Let me see you try."

Kuroko nodded wordlessly.

**. . .**

Aomine had been in the middle of a rather detached video game session when the doorbell rang earlier that evening. It had been with mild annoyance he paused the game and sluggishly got to his feet, wondering who the hell wanted something at 8 p.m. on a Thursday night. His parents were out and he was alone in the house. It normally meant total tranquility. Or boredom. Whatever one chose to call it, the doorbell ringing at that time of the night was not a regular occurrence.

He had opened the front door expecting the old neighbour lady looking for her cat or some idiot who got the wrong address or maybe even Satsuki. He would have expected _anyone_ but the blue-haired boy standing on his doorstep, looking as if he had not just showed up out of fucking nowhere.

The present brought an oddly familiar experience.

He was sitting cross-legged next to Kuroko Tetsuya on the floor in front of the television screen in his room, again. It had been ages since the smaller boy came to hang out at his house, but at this very moment the stretch of time between their middle school days and the now felt strangely non-existent. He had plugged in the second controller and changed to multiplayer mode almost routinely, the sheer faintly-vanilla-scented presence of the other boy causing old habits to kick in.

They played in silence.

It was easy being quiet with Tetsu; calm and relaxing in a nostalgic way, Aomine idly noted. A couple of weeks ago that reflection would have irked him endlessly, or maybe even provoked unwanted feelings of melancholy. Now it was but a warm vibration in his chest, the boy a welcome addition to the unchanging, gray flow of days.

Granted, Aomine thought of his everyday life as totally mundane. He usually could not be bothered to care about the stuff teenagers in general were going crazy about, and with the exception of basketball, he did not really find a great interest in anything. When that interest had faded into indifference back then, so had his life in general, seemingly becoming increasingly pointless; nothing but bleak colours and suffocating routines gathering about. In the end, nothing measured up to the way basketball had thrilled him once.

Until Tetsu and his annoying-yet-fucking-brilliant new light went and did it again.

Aomine blinked, vaguely startled by this train of thought and its peculiar conclusion. _When did that happen? And why I am thinking about this shit now?_ Trying to refocus on the game, he furrowed his brow and fixed his eyes on the TV screen. Luckily, he was quite used to playing video games in an absentminded manner. His thoughts frequently ambled away into nihility in lack of true fascination of what was in front of him. Old story.

Kuroko was still silent beside him, leisurely gaming away. Aomine was reminded once again of how much he appreciated the unproblematic state of mind he habitually entered once in his former shadow's presence.

And how he sometimes was seized by a violent urge to test the limits of such simplicity.

"So, Tetsu, what's the deal with you and Kagami?" he drawled listlessly, without tearing his eyes from the screen. He was aiming for a mildly disinterested approach, hence did not expect the sudden jolt of his heart when the words fell from his lips. It acted honestly and stupidly startled despite the fact it was its very owner who had spoken.

"I could ask you the same," Kuroko replied evenly. "You seem to be getting along rather well with Kagami-kun."

A surge of indefinite agitation whirled through Aomine's veins. Within a split second, Kuroko had turned the tables on him.

"I don't get along well with that retard," he growled, somewhat cautiously.

"Really? I thought I saw something the other day which speaks for the contrary," Kuroko said tonelessly, eyes glued to the screen.

Aomine's breath hitched strangely in his throat, and his heart made another close to painful roll. _For fuck's sake, why am I the one feeling anxious here?! _He had to force himself to remain quiet, trying to arrange the messy thoughts Kuroko's simple phrase invoked.

Mainly, it was bothering him that he could not determine the implicit significance of the words, and he could not help but be irksomely and unwillingly curious about the other's reaction. He cast Kuroko a sidelong glance. The smaller boy appeared positively unfazed, or just sucked into the video game, perhaps; either way, he did not express any emotions outside his standard mode of nothingness. No surprises there.

The Touou Ace realised too late that he had been spacing out _for real_ this time.

His game character was mercilessly slashed down by Kuroko's from behind, and was currently falling to the ground in quite the disgraceful manner.

"Aaaargh," he groaned loudly, tossing the controller aside. "I was distracted, damnit!"

"Either that or I've got some crazy skills," Kuroko calmly stated, as he turned to give Aomine a close to triumphant look. In the next moment, he was cut down in an almost identical way by a relatively low-level-looking enemy.

"Oh," he said, staring numbly at the frenetical 'GAME OVER' blinking all over the screen.

"Don't 'oh' me," Aomine facepalmed. " ...and don't drop such lame-ass lines and then die so pathetically straight afterwards!" He flopped onto his back on the floor in a display of exasperation, although laughter was bubbling dangerously close to the surface. Tetsu seldomly failed to entertain him, after all. _Not then, not now._

Still sprawling on his back, Aomine dejectedly ran a hand across his face. He decided he did not care much for evasiveness. He never had, so why would he now? Although it might be unsettling, the agitation caused by simple words was by far more intriguing. He thirsted for change much more than he feared unbalance, in the end.

"Hey, Tetsu," he said levelly. "Let's say I was getting along with that idiotic light of yours... Would it bother you?"

The silence following suit was somehow disquieting. Aomine noticed uneasily how his pulse had picked up in speed once again, a befuddling tightness unfolding in his chest. He promptly labeled it impatience. He was just about to get up and smack the other boy in the head for being so damn unresponsive, when Kuroko's face came into vision. Tangles of light blue hair fell forward as he leaned over the taller boy's lying form, placing his hands on either side of his head.

The Touou player blinked, momentarily thrown. Sky blue eyes regarded him intently, and although it was freaking impossible to pinpoint the exact emotion they radiated, Aomine felt positively stirred up. There was something in Tetsu's gaze, a passionate sort of determination which usually only made its shining appearance on the basketball court, which got under his skin and sent pleasant tremors down his spine.

Kuroko dropped his lips to his without admonition, but Aomine was not surprised. He answered to their sweet call without an ounce of restraint. Words were overrated. He much preferred it when his former shadow chose this fashion of communication.

The kiss was sweetly bold, borderline insolent; very Tetsu. The new-old feeling awoke assuasive breezes and stormy kinds of winds alike inside of Aomine, and he was at once delightfully _alive_. He parted his lips, allowing the other boy entry, and relished in the way his tongue rolled softly against his. It was hot, and he was half-contemplating to let him have his way, before the familiar want to dominate crawled up his skin, making no excuses for its presence as he caught Kuroko's lower lip between his teeth, nibbling it warningly.

The blue-haired boy withdrew slowly, a mild flush lingering on his cheeks, but without averting his dull gaze. Aomine propped himself up on his elbows, feeling warm and curious, and pensively studied his former shadow's features. Apart from the slightly pink cheeks, there was no trace of emotions on his face. If one did not look closely, one would not be able to glimpse the faint, but still evidently there, devilry flickering within his eyes.

Aomine smirked broadly.

"I take it you don't mind, then."

* * *

**A/N**: I was admittedly listening to _Lana Del Rey - Video Games_, when I was hit with the inspiration to write this chapter. It is a beautiful song, which will henceforth forever be holding hands with my AoKuro-feels, I suspect. Not that I mind, in the slightest :]


	10. Kiss 009

Kiss 009

* * *

"...and lastly, Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun will clear out the storage room." said Aida Riko with finality. The way she crossed her arms over her chest and swept her all-seeing, stern gaze over each and every member of the Serin High basketball team left no room for objections.

A clean-up-the-club-building day had been announced, again.

Naturally, the air was heavy with wordless complaints, although none was actually voiced. Everyone looked positively depressed, with the exception of Kiyoshi Teppei, who let out a boisterous laugh and elatedly thumped a dark-faced Hyuuga's back while exclaiming that "cleaning's just another way of healing body and soul" as they sauntered off towards the locker rooms.

Kagami let out a weary sigh and glanced over at Kuroko. He had a nagging feeling he was at a disadvantage, being paired up with him. The blue-haired boy seemed unperturbed however, and was probably the only one not muttering profanities under his breath as they dissolved with the rest of the team members, each assigned a more or less tedious cleaning task.

No one in their right mind would disobey a direct order from Aida Riko - although Kagami certainly felt the urge to do so, upon taking a proper look at the gym storage room for the first time. A variety of sports equipment, forgotten clothes, boxes containing god-knows-what, and a great deal of objects which could not be described as anything but plain _rubbish,_ encumbered every nook and corner of the room. There was a hundred things he would rather do after school than clearing out this mess.

He had almost forgotten about Kuroko, and was a little startled when the smaller boy shuffled past him into the messy room. The Seirin Ace stared at his back, hit by a ticklish foreboding. Lately, he tended to become strangely self-aware in Kuroko's presence, especially when they were alone. It was troublesome, but his heart reacted to the thought alone, making a small, uneasy jump in his chest. _Damnit, this is ridiculous._ Sighing, Kagami decided to just stop thinking. It was what he did best, after all.

He walked into the storage room, eyeing the mountains of garbage resignedly. Now, where the hell did they start? It looked like quite heavy work, too. Kagami unzipped his tracksuit jacket and threw it aside, thinking he should use the opportunity to at least work off some tension. In the meanwhile, his shadow was looking around the room silently, before nodding to himself.

"It'll take Kagami-kun at least a couple of hours to finish this."

"What do you mean 'Kagami-kun'?! You're as much a part of this as I am, don't make it sound like it's my pain alone!" Kagami sputtered, his fuse ablaze within a split second.

Kuroko acted as if he did not hear him, as he absently turned his back to his teammate and squatted next to one of the questionable boxes, proceeding to idly poke the contents around. Kagami was pretty sure he heard him mumbling "why's it only old stuff in here... No books..." and had to muster up all his willpower to refrain from promptly walking over and throttle the little bastard on the spot.

_Breathe in, breathe out._

Forget about self-awareness, anger management was obviously the first thing he needed to learn if he was to spend time alone with Kuroko. In order to prevent himself from committing a crime, he stalked off in the different direction, continuously fuming. He was immediately faced with a shelf practically sagging with the weight of old barbells and weights. In lack of anything better to do, the Seirin power forward set to removing them. In any case, physical work was normally known to soothe his prominently bad temper.

It was then he felt something scratching softly against his leg.

Kagami Taiga froze up inwardly as a rising feeling of anxiety spread its cold wings within his chest. _No. Not possible. It should not be in here. It was only me and Kuroko just now, so.._. He slowly turned his gaze downwards.

A pair of round, sky blue eyes bore into him mercilessly, accompanied by a tail wagging excitedly against the dusty floor. A small pink tongue stuck out of slightly parted jaws as it panted... Hungrily? _No, no, no..._ Softly. Expectantly. Definitely. Not. Hungrily.

Irrational as it may be, his dog phobia was far from cured. He had admittedly gotten a little more used to the fluffy creature lately, and was more or less alright as long as he was not forced to be in its immediate presence, but that did not change the fact it freaked him out each time it just _popped up out of nowhere_. Kagami had no trouble imagining where the little monster had picked up that extraordinarily bad habit, or from whom.

Tetsuya #2 lifted a small paw, which looked twice the size and possibly deadly in Kagami's eyes, and placed it in a sort of matter-of-factly way on the tall basketball player's foot, effectively preventing him from moving. That _had_ to be a calculated move. Kagami felt a cold-sweat breaking out, brain cells scurrying all over the place in undignified panic, as he stared down at the dog in terror, both hands glued to the wall behind him.

"Kuroko!" he hissed urgently, not tearing his gaze from the possible-assaulter at his feet.

"Hmm?"

The boy emerged from behind a pile of boxes, blue hair slightly disheveled as if he had been lying down - _I'll kill him later_ - and a book, looking suspiciously like a manga, in his hand. He took in the scene impassively, looking from the dog to the tall boy plastered to the wall.

"Nigou likes Kagami-kun," he stated.

"No freaking way, he just wants... That's not the problem here!" Kagami snapped, increasingly distressed as the little beast had inched even closer, or at least he thought he had. "Just _do something!_"

"Do what-something?"

Innocent blue eyes looked at him unblinkingly.

"Don't look at me like that!" Kagami bellowed, desperation creeping into his voice, as he tried to keep an eye on the dog and his teammate simultaneously. "You know what I mean, damnit! Get it off me!"

There was an unexpected silence.

Kagami's eyes questioningly flickered towards Kuroko. His shadow did not move, as he regarded the scene with what appeared to be indifference, although one corner of his mouth was gently tilted upwards. The red-haired teen was struck by the terrible suspicion the other boy was actually _enjoying_ this.

"Kuroko," he growled threateningly through his teeth.

No reaction.

"Woof!" The bark startled Kagami bad enough to cause him to almost jump out of his skin, and involuntarily emit a muffled whimper as he pressed into the wall behind him so forcefully the wood creaked in protest. The dog was on all fours now, the white dots over its eyes lifted expectantly...no, menacingly? _Damnit, damnit, damnit. _

Shaking his head in dejection, the tall boy took a deep breath.

"I beg you... Kuroko. I - I'll do anything, I swear."

Kuroko cocked his head to the side. Tetsuya #2 mimicked the gesture.

"Anything?"

"Anything damnit, I don't care, just get it off, off!"

Kuroko wordlessly reached down and picked the dog up. The offensive furball did not protest in the slightest, as it went limp and obedient in the arms of its namesake, happily nuzzling his cheek.

The red-haired teen observed them warily, still pathetically glued to the wall in fear of what would happen if he made a run for it.

Kuroko's next move sent his heart straight up his throat. The boy bluntly stretched out his arms and held the black-and-white little fiend out in front of him; disquietingly close to Kagami's horrified face. All thinkable escape routes were blocked.

"A kiss." Two identical pairs of oval-shaped blue eyes stared into his soul. "I want a kiss."

Kagami's brain cells took a pause from whatever sort of activity they were engaged in (which was, for the greatest part, just aimlessly wandering around). Some were nervously twiddling their hands, others intently furrowed their brows as if they attempted to seriously mull the situation over, but most of them just looked downright stupefied, blinking in confusion. No help there.

The only thing comprehensible about the situation was the need to get out of it. The light of Seirin let out a shaky sigh, stubbornly averting his gaze.

"Whatever."

With a small nod, Kuroko backed off. He gently put the dog down on the floor, giving it a pat on the head and a nondescript look Kagami could not read, but which the Siberian Husky seemed to understand perfectly well. It might have been his imagination, or his out-stressed brain playing a trick on him, but it actually seemed like the dog gave a sort of affirmative nod before it scampered off.

_Finally. _

Kagami was torn between the impulse to helplessly crumple to the floor in relief the moment the dog was out of sight, and the overwhelming tempestuousness flooding his senses. The latter won him over in an instant, as he caught Kuroko guiltlessly peering at him over his shoulder.

"You..."

It was all he managed to formulate verbally, the rest was his body talking.

Kuroko was violently yanked in by the fabric of his jacket, spun around and trapped between the wall and the taller boy's looming frame, their roles reversed within a heartbeat. Half-blinded by surging adrenalin, Kagami's eyes hazily swept over the blue-haired boy's unexpressive face for the shortest of moments. It was no doubt satisfactory, and at the same time strangely arousing, the sight of the little tormentor pinned against the wall, unable to escape even if he wanted to.

Latent predatory urges within Kagami came in to play at this point, and if there was any reasoning present to begin with, it was left behind as he leaned in and relentlessly crushed his mouth against the other boy's. Kuroko's soft lips felt oddly unmoving against his for a second, as if the sudden move had actually surprised him greatly, before promptly falling into rhythm, obligingly answering to Kagami's angry-heated assault.

Which eventually turned into nothing but plain heated.

It was something about Kuroko Tetsuya. His sheer existence would always amaze and befuddle him in equal parts. In this, the boy was the dry sheet of paper added to glowing charcoal, causing slumbering flames to wake up, roaring and licking heatedly against Kagami's insides. His heart raced uncontrollably in his chest, fueled by this nameless ferment that was Kuroko's vaguely sweet scent, his tantalizingly smooth tongue, his quiet-borderline-inaudible whimpers, his small hands gripping his jersey with surprising ferocity...

A loud thump on the door.

"Oi! Kagami! Kuroko! What're you doing in there?! Nigou won't let us enter! He's...ow!"

"Woof woof!"

Hyuuga's irritated voice and Tetsuya #2's barking jerked Kagami back to reality, and he pulled back dazedly, breath coming out hard and heavy. He stared blankly down at the blue-haired boy for a confounded moment, wondering distantly why his heart roared with such intensity. Kuroko looked up at him in silence, eyes glazed with something closely akin to lust - Kagami was too riled up and too stupid to tell exactly. He did, however, perceive the blunt curiosity Kuroko radiated as he brought a hand to his lips, touching them thoughtfully without dropping his gaze.

"Oi, listen! Get out of there already! Nigou is seriously out of his mind! Kuroko!" Their captain sounded like he was close to the boiling point, and voices of other team members were now mixing with his noisy yelling. Someone, Koga in all likelihood, was knowingly advising Hyuuga to squat and approach the dog with a 'calm-assertive energy'. ("Say _tssssst,_ rather intensive, kind of short and snappy... They listen to that.")

A loud crash was heard, followed by a muffled shriek and Hyuuga's increasingly agitated voice.

"Don't tell me some random shit from the Dog Whisperer!"

Kagami stared at the door dumbfounded._ Why don't they just enter? _A new series of wild barks and shouts broke out behind the door, as Tetsuya #2 was presumably getting fed up with the talking. Slowly stepping back, letting go of the other boy's jacket which he unconsciously had been gripping, he glanced from the door, to Kuroko's deadpan expression, and to the door again. He narrowed his eyes.

"Just before...you said something... I mean, you looked like... What- what did you tell it- Nigou?"

Kuroko blinked, looking slightly puzzled as if Kagami was asking him to state the obvious.

"To stand guard, of course."

* * *

**A/N: ***Koga = Shinji Koganei. Jack of all trades. Nekomouth. *Nigou = Tetsuya #2.

...though I know you got that ;D


	11. KIss 007 EXTRA

**A/N**: this jumbles up the order a bit, but I couldn't resist. It serves as a sort of bonus-prequel to Kiss #7 in which Kagami has a naughty dream. Alex POV.

* * *

Kiss 007 EXTRA

* * *

Alexandra Garcia woke up hungry and a little grumpy.

Hungry because, well she was always hungry in the mornings; grumpy because she was now sleeping on the couch, and it was not nearly as comfortable as Taiga's bed. He had made it clear sharing it was out of the question though, and no matter how much she pleaded and complained he was not budging. He had even established a rule against walking around the apartment with little or no clothing.

"Japan's turned my babies into prudes," Alex muttered abjectly, throwing the covers aside. She pulled on a t-shirt nonetheless, (she would forever be sleeping in nothing but her panties), before strolling over to the fridge, in the mood for something sweet and preferably unhealthy. Japanese food was tasty and all, but once in a while she totally craved a bit of good old western decadence like... Flapjacks!_ Yum._

Quickly scanning the interior of the fridge she confirmed all the ingredients needed were there (Taiga's food supplies were all around oddly satisfactory). The blonde woman reached for a box with eggs when hit by a thought.

_If I make pancakes, they'll be alright. If Taiga makes pancakes - they'll be delicious._

Swirling around - the thought alone cheering her up immensely - she promptly walked into her student's bedroom, fully intent on shaking him awake and demanding some golden-fried, fluffy, savory American pancakes with peanut butter and maple syrup and maybe... She stopped dead in her tracks just in front of his bed, the hand reaching out for the teen frozen in mid-air.

Now _this_ was interesting.

The teenage boy appeared to be dreaming: his shallow, rapid breathing was accompanied by the erratic movement of his eyes under closed eyelids, immersed in their own private show. No stranger to naughty business, Alex knew immediately that this was no ordinary dream. Instinctively amused, she squatted next to the bed, interestedly regarding her tiger cub tossing and turning and mumbling into the pillow.

His cheeks were adorably flushed, split eyebrows furrowed in deep emotion. All kinds of funny noises (all bearing the sign or pleasure: be it small whimpers or pained groans) escaped his slightly parted lips as he rolled to the side, exposing his naked well-defined chest. The sheets were safely twirled around his mid-section still, but Alex had no trouble imagining what sort of spectacle was going on down there.

Chuckling, she contemplated whether or not to let him sleep through this obviously pleasant dream after all, when the boy's incoherent flow of sounds unexpectedly resolved into actual _words._

"Nhh, again...no... K- kuroko...wait...yes..."

Alex cocked an eyebrow. Kuroko? _Really now._ Her first impression of the boy had been mediocre, but since then she had come to learn what a uniquely extraordinary player that beansprout of a boy was - and what kind of power he had ignited in Taiga. Obviously it was not the only thing he had ignited.

Her student moaned rather loudly in his sleep, biting his lower lip while continuously rambling under his breath. Alex only caught parts and bits of what he was saying but it was by all means enough to discern the essential significance.

"Ao...mine... please...mmmmh... I... just...please..."

Aomine, huh. That one made sense. Although she had never seen him play, if what she had heard about him was anything close to reality, he would be Taiga's natural rival. They were, if rumor had it right, undeniably similar. As the former and current light sources of Kuroko Tetsuya they had something in common which was difficult to disregard in terms of basketball.

This dream clearly had nothing to do with that sort of game though.

Alex grinned, feeling warm at heart. Taiga's disturbingly prudish tendencies might be cured by this country and its boys, after all.

She leaned forward and pecked her about-to-be-full-grown tiger on the lips.


	12. Kiss 010

Kiss 010

* * *

It was raining.

Not in a silently drip-dropping way, nor the gently drumming sort, but the hard, relentlessly pouring kind. Standing under the awning outside Maji Burger, Kagami watched the raindrops fall heavily, only to splatter and dissolve into nullity against the asphalt. The dark sky promised no end to it, although it had looked perfectly clear when he entered the restaurant twenty minutes earlier. The red-haired teen sighed dejectedly, thinking that rain had this way of sneaking up on him unaware - much like a certain blue-haired boy with nearly-transparent aura was prone to do.

Needless to say, Kagami Taiga was not one of those prudent persons carrying around an umbrella, and was henceforth stuck between two options; walking home anyway, or waiting for the rain to stop. Frankly, he did not care much whether or not he would be getting wet; what was holding him back was the voice in the back of his head, reminding him there would be some infamous Aida-Riko-XS-practice in store for him if he went and caught himself something so silly as a cold.

"Yo, Kagami."

His heart jolted.

Aomine Daiki's drawling, deep voice mingling with the heavy smattering of rain against nylon was unmistakable. Kagami's muscles automatically tensed, pulse speeding with peculiar clarity as a reaction to the sheer, prickling presence of the Touou player sauntering closer, coming to a halt just in front of him. One of his hands was stuffed in the pocket of his jacket, the other wrapped around the shaft of a wide black umbrella leisurely resting against his shoulder, keeping him dry and smirking and imposing as ever. Instinctively wary, Kagami scowled at him, trying to ignore the fervent swirl in the pit of his stomach at the belated realisation the other had actually greeted him, sort of.

"What do you want?" His voice was a low growl, resembling that of a crouching animal prepared to leap into fight at any moment. It was not as though he lacked reasons to be on his guard around this bastard; memories from their last meetings, on _and _off court, danced across Kagami's inner vision, raising his adrenalin levels.

Aomine appeared unfazed, even a little elated, maybe.

"Easy, tiger," he said, amusement stingingly audible in his voice. "I was just wondering why you were standing here looking like an idiot, but I guess mystery's solved." His eyes swept cursory over Kagami's empty hands, and then to the awning. "How long you plan to wait for it to let up?"

"None of your business, jerk."

"You sure? It might be pissing down for another couple of hours." Aomine stated in a monotone voice, disinterest floating over his face, oddly non-compatible with the playful glow in his eyes.

"I don't see what it is to you," Kagami frowned cautiously.

"Nothing, really," Aomine shrugged, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand. "I'm just saying - we're heading in the same direction, no?"

Kagami stared at him incredulously, heart flipping relentlessly.

"Huh?"

The Touou player spun the umbrella shaft carelessly between his fingers so it created a blurry whirl above his head, an enigmatic smile spreading over his face.

"You heard me, Kagami," he all but murmured - voice strangely husky and totally fucking spine-tingling. He provocatively stared into the red-haired teen's eyes, sending wordless suggestions swirling through the air, skillfully dodging the raindrops; and striking a very special cord in Kagami. He might be clueless on countless levels, but this sure as hell was not one of them. He was a born natural at detecting challenges. He was also utterly and completely unable to disregard one directed at his person. He knew by instinct he was being tested and there was not one part of his being able to stay still. The indomitable want to explore it, match it, break it; was just far stronger than him (well, the part of him consisting of constantly-slightly-dopey-looking brain cells, at least.)

"You're asking me to share your umbrella?" he said slowly, one corner of his mouth twitching.

"Seems like it." Dark blue eyes sparkled heatedly.

As Aomine held out the umbrella in a mockingly inviting manner, Kagami knew he had since long abandoned the possibility of stepping back. It was not like he particularly wanted to, either. Letting the fire gnawing at his consciousness burn freely held a charm of its own.

The step in and under the black cover brought him at once unsettlingly close to the Touou Academy power forward. Only a few inches of air separated him from his arch-nemesis and sworn rival; the one frequently setting his heart off beat in the most peculiar ways. If he would have raised his hand, even a little, it would have touched the other boy's leg. Kagami shivered inwardly, but kept his gaze steady, looking straight into midnight blue flames.

Aomine raised an eyebrow, tryingly leaning in a little closer, his smile turning into something twisted. He was testing the limits, and even Kagami could tell how much he enjoyed it. More numb quivers crept up his spine, and the world went a little hazy in the outlines as he willed himself to stay motionless, and prevent his mind from spinning out of control and reason. Silence stretched between them, framed by the furious smattering of rain against the canopy and hearts pounding hysterically within broad chests, electrifying every tiny second ticking by.

_I'll not lose._

Strangely certain he must win whatever sort of messed up contest this was; Kagami battled the urge to do something stupid. Like, to hit the damned bastard or run in the different direction; both of which felt like natural reflexes much easier to go with than standing still, so close, in front of piercing eyes and lips practically ghosting over his. _When the hell did you get so close?_ He could feel Aomine's breath, warm and ticklish, and whatever resolution he had formed earlier was ebbing away with an alarming speed. He could not think or move. What else was new.

A sharp intake of air, and the Touou player suddenly took a step back, umbrella and warm breath yanked away in a startled heartbeat. He looked at Kagami with an expression of mingled fascination and ill-concealed hunger.

"Unbelievable," he said, voice dropping low but for some reason cutting through the splashing sounds of water more clearly than anything he previously had been saying.

What exactly it was he could not believe, Kagami did not know, but it was not like he could really process anything with a deeper meaning at the moment. He scarcely noticed the fact he was now an easy target for the aggressive raindrops when the temporary shelter was removed, as he remained rooted on the spot.

_What?_

Before he had the chance to even attempt a recovery of brain activity and speech, Aomine had turned away, clearly not expecting a response. Kagami could hear him mumble something inaudible, face hidden behind the wide black canopy, before promptly starting to walk off.

As he stood dumbstruck watching the boy with the umbrella leave, he finally became aware of the rain. The sky seemed to be struck with a particularly serious case of Monday-depression as its crying increased even more in power, furiously pelting against the sidewalks, whipping against his face, drenching the world in tears. A heavy sense of déjà-vu came tumbling over Kagami as he regarded Aomine Daiki's retreating figure through the thick curtain of water, heart swelling uneasily in frustration. It was suddenly too much to bear.

_No, you won't. Not this time. _

Anger; well-known, comprehensible, refreshing anger, welled up inside of him. His mind went heavenly blank, and he ran before his brain had the chance to tell him not to.

The slightly startled look on the Touou player's face as he caught up with him, grabbing his shoulder before violently shoving him into a narrow alley next to the wet pavement, was deeply gratifying. The umbrella fell out of surprised hands, rolling and flapping helplessly on the ground, no longer serving to protect either boy of the sky's merciless pouring - a fact which in all likelihood passed both of them by.

"Don't... fuck... with... me," Kagami growled between ragged breaths, as he pressed Aomine up against the brick wall with a force so consuming it, on some level, surprised even himself. "What were you mumbling about just before..? I couldn't hear you clearly."

There was a fleeting look of anger on Aomine's face, which resolved into something like exhilaration as he was pushed harder against the wall. If Kagami had been a little more clear-sighted he might have perceived the brief flicker of thankfulness there too, before the Touou Ace was back to his usual scornful self.

"Dunno why you wanna know so badly," he drawled, smirking derisively but continuing nonetheless. "I just said you'd catch a cold standing around in the rain like an idiot. Considerate of me, hnn?"

Aomine's sharp eyes searched his for a reaction, defiantly glimmering and making up for the remarkable lack of physical resistance. In fact, he appeared all around strangely at ease with the sudden turn of events, not noticeably concerned with either the raindrops coursing down his face or Kagami's strong grip on the collar of his jacket. Among all pointless things to realise, the red-haired boy noted how pearly drops gathered on his eyelashes, briefly, before trickling down his cheeks and neck.

"Shut up," he uttered between clenched teeth, torn between the mesmerizing path of water and the need to wipe the infuriating smirk off the other's face. His slightly retarded brain cells were squirming under the crushing weight of his inherent aptitude._ It'_s_ too fucking late to be considerate._ And so, he tugged his rival in by the collar and ruthlessly erased the exasperating distance between their lips.

There was an immediate spark of fire; Aomine furiously fighting his advances back with tongue and teeth - and _goddamnit;_ it was mind-blowing in all the wrong ways. Although the rain still fell ceaselessly, their sphere was in flames. Kagami could not care less about the wet strands of hair falling down over his eyes, or how his damp clothes clung to his skin as he immersed himself in the unyielding existence that was Aomine Daiki. He could not help but helplessly crave it; the thrilling, unpredictable nature of the boy who in one moment nibbled his lips almost tenderly and in the next bit down in a clearly predatory manner, causing warm blood to gush out. The coppery taste mingling with rain was oddly compelling, adding sweetly to the slow burn in his veins and resistance merged with desire; dark, numbing and irrepressible desire. It coursed through his body in rhythm with his madly pounding heart as the other boy's hands reached for his neck, pulling deeper, closer, wordlessly demanding more.

Kagami could not tell opposition from capitulation any longer.

Under the relentless raindrops, drenching him straight through his clothes; under Aomine's roaming hands, heating him all the way to the core of his bones; he was raging. The touch of long, cool fingers gripping his neck, treading his wet hair, wandering in under his soaked-through school uniform jacket and shirt, glowed against his already unbearably hot skin. _Burning. I'm burning up. _His lower regions ached, desperately longing to take part, and the prominent hardness rubbing against his demonstrated the Touou player was in no better state. Kagami recognized hazily how _excited _that knowledge made him, and he could not help but moan throatily as Aomine rolled his hips, grinding purposefully against him and creating this damn delicious friction between their pulsating, confined arousals.

If Kagami had not been in just this situation - mindlessly aroused and seconds away from completely losing control - he might have heard them sooner.

_Voices_. Unwelcome voices floating towards the two boys caught up in each other's warmth under the furious downfall of water. Up until this moment, they had been oblivious to rain and pedestrians alike.

These voices were too familiar to shut out, though.

"Aaaargh, where did they go?! I'm sure I saw them just a moment ago, somewhere around here... It _must_ have been Aominecchi and Kagamicchi, I had this feeling in my stomach!"

"Really, who cares. It was probably just an illusion caused by the rain."

If Kagami had not been in just this situation** -** Aomine lowly chuckling into his ear and blowing hot air over impossibly sensitive areas - he might have been angered by the fact he was being lumped together with said person.

Now he could not decide if the proximity of the voices or the delightful sensations at his neck was his biggest problem.

"Eeeh you're so cruel Senpai, don't you wanna know what they were doing?! I'm telling you, I think they were sharing an umbrella, isn't that just...ouch!" (Even without properly seeing them, it was safe to assume that Kise had just received a smack upon the head.)

"And I'm telling you that was just your mind playing a trick on you, cause the rain's so heavy and you see what you wanna see. Seriously, Kise - what in the world makes you think those two monsters would _share an umbrella_?"

If Kagami had not been in just this situation** -** heart somersaulting as he hastily moved back from Aomine, just before Kise Ryouta and Yukio Kasamatsu passed the alleyway - he might have noticed that _they_ did share an umbrella, among all things.

They were busy staring at Kise's cellphone for some reason, and did not look sideways into the narrow passage - luckily.

"Look, I know it's blurry and all and you can't really see the faces because of the umbrella but I know Aominecchi's body... Ow! Stop hitting me for no reason Senpai! ...I mean, his posture... I'd recognise it anywhere. And those are totally Kagamicchi's sneakers!"

"I can't believe you managed to snap a photo..." Kasamatsu muttered, his voice reluctantly interested now. Kise's answer was drowned out by the rain and distance.

Kagami let out a shaky breath, feeling almost lightheaded, most probably because of the sudden adrenalin withdrawal. And maybe partly because of reality slowly filtering back through his brain, being all confusing and blush-inducing. He stared at the boy in front of him with panicky embarrassment rising in his chest. Why, tardy realisation was his specialty.

Aomine lazily pushed off the brick wall and straightened his back. His expression was inscrutable as he glanced in the direction the Kaijou players had disappeared.

"Kise, that bastard," he mumbled, running a hand through his sodden hair. As per usual, Kagami could not tell whether he was annoyed or amused. Nor was he given the chance to figure it out, as the Touou Ace turned and shuffled towards the sidewalk in that trademark perfunctory manner of his, lifting a hand before stepping out in the street.

"Later, Kagami."

And he was gone, leaving behind a black umbrella and a teenage heart, fluttering madly under the fall of water.

* * *

**A/N**: I wrote this under the influence of endless rainy days, countless cups of black coffee and Tom Waits raspy voice (and occasionally Adele's _'Set fire to the rain'_) - which is my excuse for it being a tad melancholic (maybe). I hope Kise's guest appearance brought some rays of sunshine :]

Sneaky thanks to** EudaimonArisornae** again, for patience and perpetual support (love), and to _thuya_ for the sweet comments and understanding of Tiger-kun's immense appeal ;D


	13. Kiss 011

Kiss 011

* * *

"_...please be quiet and courteous to others, and silence your cell phones now."_

It was weirdly nostalgic.

The buttery smell of popcorn and the hushed whispers rippling through a slightly unruly, excited audience tickled old memories. He used to visit the cinema every now and then as a kid, and he recalled the atmosphere to be exactly as subtly cheerful back then - which was pretty much where the similarities to his current predicament ceased to exist.

Aomine Daiki rubbed his temple, trying to remember _why_ _on earth _he was in a movie theatre again.

Satsuki had insisted on him coming with her and Tetsu - pointedly hinting he still owed her for that godforsaken kiss on the rooftop - and once again he found himself in a situation he would dubiously be in if it was not for her meddling. The underlying purpose for her wanting him there was rather obvious. It was not that she desperately wanted his company so much as that his presence provided an excuse for her to go to the movies with Kuroko without having to call it a date (although she no doubt secretly thought of it as one).

She could be quite the demoness in disguise, when the situation called for it. Purposely ignoring his half-assed protests ("In the very rare case you'd be needing a chaperon, Satsuki, I'm telling you I'm a crappy choice..."), she had went as far as buying them all tickets to some random movie she wanted to watch, presuming neither he nor Tetsu would have anything better to do - which, apparently, they did not.

Aomine sat sunken in a huge, admittedly comfy, red chair in the back-row, his long legs ungainly stretched in front of him. To his right sat his two oldest friends, while the seat to the left was unoccupied. In fact, the salon was only half-filled, and the back-row was empty but for their little group; the rest of the spectators were scattered about the front rows. Tetsu was seated in between him and Satsuki, drinking some kind of soda from a plastic cup with a straw, and looking all around annoyingly at ease. He was casually dressed in t-shirt and jeans, nothing remarkable about him but for the fact he was so overwhelmingly unremarkable.

Satsuki, on the other hand, looked like she was about to attend some kind of fancy party in a billowing dress and all kinds of glitter attached to arms and ears and whatnot. Her cherry-ish scent was heavier than usual, merging with that of vanilla and popcorn in an oddly fitting way. Strands of pink hair fell over her arms as she leaned forward a little, deeply immersed in the movie - the title of which Aomine had already forgotten - eyes bright with interest. Tetsu's eyes in contrast were unsurprisingly dull, although he was supposedly watching as they were directed at the screen.

Distractedly realising that he had been focusing on pointless things such as Satsuki's strange choice of clothes and Tetsu's possible-interest and not at all on the movie, Aomine scratched the back of his neck. He was not even sure what the film was about. His eyes absently swept over the screen. Right. This guy had revealed he was some kind of shady version of a vampire... Soundlessly snorting, the tall boy ran a hand over his face. He could think of few things which interested him less. _How am I supposed to get through this shit?_

His mind helpfully shot him a mental picture of Tetsu in a vampire attire, all dead serious and cloaked with tiny fangs sticking out of his unexpressive mouth... He was suddenly dangerously close to laughter; which was no good either, if concentration was what he was aiming for.

Aomine's head was emptied of cosplaying vampires in a heartbeat though, as a hand came to rest on his thigh. His heart made a funny little leap. _Oi_. It was no mistaking Tetsu's small hand, placed upon his leg under the cover of darkness, for no one else to see but for him to _feel _through his jeans. It lay there, motionless, as though it was supposed to be there; as if it was the most natural thing in the world; like there was nothing at all indecent about it.

_Give me a freaking break._

Warily scrutinizing the owner of that provoking little hand through the corner of his eye, what Aomine already suspected was confirmed -Tetsu showed no outward signs of acknowledgment of his actions whatsoever. Looking in front of him at the movie screen while idly nibbling at the drinking straw, he was immodestly drawing upon his ability to go invisible - Satsuki sat close, but did not take notice of the straying hand in the dark at all.

It was very visible to Aomine, though. He had always seen Tetsu clearly. It used to be part of their strength, the unlimited awareness of the shadow bringing out his light - that fucking perfect compatibility. At this very instant however, he sort of wished that thing did not exist between them. That he could be as heavenly oblivious to the little bastard as everyone else, and henceforth _not_ be feeling as if the only thing of importance in the world was that certain part of his jeans-clad leg where the other boy's hand rested, skin warming under the light weight. He cursed mentally.

As though Tetsu sensed his distress, he increased the pressure ever so slightly, his fingertips pressing softly down his muscular thigh, causing his sensory cells to send elated signals to his brain. _Damnit. _Aomine shifted awkwardly in his seat, trying to glare threateningly at Tetsu without catching Satsuki's attention, but was met with ignorance as the other did not tear his eyes from the screen. Instead, the hand inched upwards, the featherlight touch of his fingers nearing off-limited areas in a display of practiced innocence - which it clearly was _not. _The Touou player quivered against his will, feeling that inevitable stir in his groin at the suggestive touch, and growled inwardly.

_You dirty-playing little demon, I'll definitely kill you after this..._

Annoyance was clouded by growing arousal however, as Tetsu's warm hand continued its shameless journey along the inside of his thigh, rubbing the skin gently through the fabric of his jeans. Every movement shot a numbing tingle up his spine and blood_ rushing_, creating this dull ache between his legs and wrapping his brain in a fuzzy endorphin-foil. The corner of his mouth twitched as he leaned back and tried to look as if he was engrossed in whatever shit was going on in the film. He shifted a tiny bit in the process, spreading his legs a little to relieve the pressure - not to allow that hellishly teasing little hand better access, mind you.

It was almost there now. There, where it pulsated and strained; the hand hovered, impossibly close but not making contact. The fingers solely continued to touch and circulate softly, caressing his thigh in that maliciously tantalizing way...

"I'm going to the bathroom, Tetsu-kun - you'll have to tell me what happened when I get back!"

Satsuki's voice cut through Aomine's heavily lusty sphere like a knife. He tensed up, vaguely disappointed as the tormenting hand vanished into thin air. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tetsu nodding in blank affirmation. In the rows in front of them, a few heads turned to give Satsuki annoyed or alternatively curious looks as she made a rather noisy exit.

The moment she was out of sight, the Touou player turned in his chair and grabbed his former shadow by the front of his t-shirt. Even in the darkness, he recognized the mischievous sparkle in his oval-shaped eyes. "For fuck's sake, Tetsu," he hissed, before thoughtlessly tugging him into a hard kiss.

Seething with pent-up frustration, Aomine was long past taking useless stuff like inhibitions into consideration, and he kissed Tetsu with the hazy, but deeply real, intention of getting the upper hand in this twisted little game. He could not decide whether he was irritated or pleased about how little the other boy seemed to mind his assault. As he forcefully slid his tongue inside, mindlessly biting and sucking at every part of that soda-tasting mouth, the phantom player seemed noticeably content rather than overwhelmed, as he non-hesitantly brought his hand back to its previous whereabouts.

_Holy shit._

Sensing serious danger, Aomine forced himself to break the kiss and pull away. Kuroko softly fell back in his seat. A small smile, barely visible in the dim light, floated across his face. In the periphery, the Touou Ace caught a glasses-wearing girl in the row in front of them staring. Her eyes were round with surprise, and her expression did not get less bewildered as Satsuki came dancing back between the lines of chairs, cheeks flushed and face radiant with expectance as she seated herself next to Tetsu, affectionately grabbing his arm in a way only a girlfriend would.

"What did I miss? Did they kiss?" she asked breathlessly, large pink eyes sweeping from Kuroko to Aomine, and back again. The girl with the glasses made a funny noise as she turned away and hid her face in a plastic cup of unknown content.

Aomine's mind was so, so very blank. The fact that there was a film still rolling up on that huge screen in front of them seemed so oddly far away. Why, he had concentration difficulties, Satsuki of all people should know about that, right? He was just about to offer a mumbled, noncommittal reply when Tetsu's flat voice saved him from the trouble.

"No. The creepy one messed up and now the girl's put off." He brought the straw back to his mouth, looking unperturbed as ever. "One shall not speak badly of tofu."

"Ooh," said Satsuki.

Glasses-girl was positively choking on her drink in the chair below.

* * *

**A/N**: there... why, I feel like I should apologise to someone. Satsuki, presumably D:


	14. Kiss 012

Kiss 012

* * *

If Kuroko had not been the full-fledged pokerface-master that he was, Kagami could have sworn he was giving him a funny look. The phantom player was currently eyeing him from across the table at Maji Burger, one hand wrapped around his trademark vanilla shake, the other holding a flipped-open cellphone. Just a moment ago his eyes had been glued to that little device, before he slowly raised his head to shoot his light said blank, possibly funny, look.

Shifting uneasily on the bench, Kagami was trying his hardest to make out any implication behind the way Kuroko's gaze wandered between the display of his phone, to him, and back again – all the while chewing thoughtfully at his lower lip.

It was unsettling as hell.

Normally, he would ignore Kuroko's insignificant presence while eating – he was more or less used to him just _being there_ by now – but this sort of stare was downright vexing. It irked Kagami to no end that his shadow had the ability to get under his skin in this fashion, and even more so that he was not capable of masking his discomfort. He could practically _feel_ a vein throbbing at his temple as he tried to stay still under those inexpressive, yet somehow eloquent, eyes studying him.

"What?" he barked finally, crumpling the wrapping paper of his twentieth hamburger to a hard ball in his clenched fist. "If there's something you wanna say, just say it, damnit."

Kuroko did not reply. He merely held out the cellphone in front of Kagami. Slightly taken aback, the redhead narrowed his eyes as he regarded the little screen. It displayed a photo of sorts, which was dark and rather hazy... He could just barely discern an umbrella and two people standing under it. Kagami squinted, trying to detect anything which would hint at its significance, but failed in doing so or at all understanding why Kuroko was staring at it in the first place. Heaving a frustrated sigh, he looked past the phone and into the other boy's vacuous eyes.

"I don't freaking get it, Kuroko – am I supposed to, just from you showing me this shitty photo? I have no idea what it is, even."

Kuroko tilted his head to the side, not lowering the phone. His tone was mildly questioning.

"Isn't it Kagami-kun in there?"

"What?! Why would I –"

_Oh. _

_Oh, shit. _

Kagami's eyes flickered over the display again, dawning realisation spiraling with nauseating force down the pit of his stomach. Although it was blurry, now when he sort of knew what to expect, he had no trouble recognising the outlines of his own legs and those of another, all-too-familiar boy under that umbrella, upper parts of their bodies hidden but all the same strangely, _suspiciously_, close to one another.

Mustering up a considerable amount of willpower, Kagami struggled to remain cool-headed.

"How... did you get that?" he grumbled warily, trying desperately to keep his voice steady and at the same time fight off the hot rush creeping up his neck.

"Kise-kun sent it to me," Kuroko replied off-handedly, while slowly flipping the phone closed. He regarded Kagami with something that appeared to be – surprising and unusual – interest. "I didn't know you and Aomine-kun were on such good terms."

"We're not!" Kagami immediately started protesting, feeling his cheeks go hotter by the second as the whole meaning of that picture's existence sunk in. He was quickly forgetting about his would-be cool head in his mindless attempt to deny _whatever it was_ being implied, stuttering badly. "And that's... T-that's... It's nothing like that, damnit... W-we were just..."

"Sharing an umbrella?"

Kuroko finished his sentence, smoothly turning it into a questioning sort of statement Kagami had no freaking clue how he should respond to. As the blue-haired boy observed him while calmly slurping his milkshake, the notion of panic within the Seirin Ace's chest grew fearsomely prominent. His shadow had never once before mentioned what he saw that time he walked in on him and Aomine in the fitting rooms, yet now it felt as though that incident too, was being brought back and exposed to the light of day with merciless lucidity. He did not know what to say, yet he was helplessly impelled to say _something_, anything...

"W-well, even if we were... What difference does it make?!" He almost choked on the words, though it was way too late to take them back now. Besides, he could not come up with something better to say; the easiest thing to do seemed to be throwing a question back at the unfazed little devil in front of him, no matter how ambiguous said question might be.

"Hmm," Kuroko mumbled around the drinking straw, pensively gazing upwards. "It'd make me happy if you were."

Those of Kagami's brain cells who were out jogging skidded to a halt, jaws slack with surprise and confusion. _Happy? What does he mean 'happy'? _Kagami could do nothing but stare incredulously at the boy in front of him, brain buzzing with pants and gasps.

Kuroko stared back quietly, tongue swirling languidly around the drinking straw. It flickered out of his mouth to lap up some drops of white, creamy liquid pearling along its length, proceeding to slide slowly upwards – only to disappear in the next second, becoming nothing but a teasing memory etched across the other boy's inner vision. Shaking his head dazedly, Kagami attempted to focus on the meaning of the blue-haired boy's words again, but his mind was now impotently preoccupied with imagining how cold and sweet that tongue might be.

Wordlessly, Kuroko offered him the cup, pushing it across the table in an inviting manner.

Kagami picked it up reflexively. If presented with something in such a direct way, his automatic response was to just accept it sans thinking. It was easier that way, easier. The majority of his brain cell's had now flounced to the ground in defeat, resignedly abandoning all intentions of working out.

The taste of vanilla was disquietingly familiar. And not familiar in the way it steered his thoughts towards edible vanilla-flavoured treats such as ice cream or cupcakes, unfortunately. As the cold, smooth liquid spread on Kagami's tongue the reminiscence of Kuroko's sweet-tasting lips was the sole thing flooding his head. He unconsciously licked the straw in the same way Kuroko had just a moment before. Sky blue eyes widened by just a tiny fraction.

_Indirect kiss._

This thought brought a new, crimson flush to Kagami's cheeks, and he hastily put the cup down and shoved it back towards Kuroko, unsure of why the hell _that _would bother him to such an extent. But it did, and his heart was practically wreaking havoc within his ribcage as he watched the other boy insouciantly bring the straw back to his lips, sucking deeply. The pink little tongue flickered out anew, rolling suggestively – accompanied by a not-in-the-least disconcerted facial expression.

_...again._

Kagami could not take it anymore.

"The hell..." he growled, defeated, burying his face behind his hands. He was blushing out of every pore and he had in all honesty forgotten why he was even stirred up to begin with. Cursing mentally, he tried to force his lazy-ass brain cells to cooperate. Right. The photo. Of him and that Touou-bastard... Kise's goddamn meddling. Kuroko's words. How _on earth_ was he supposed to cope with this confusing mess?

Looking through his fingers, he met with his shadow's empty, although mildly amused, gaze. He was leaning one elbow on the table, chin resting in his cupped hand as he sucked idly at his drink. There was something deeply content about the look of him, as though he was having an extraordinarily good time for reasons Kagami neither could nor wanted to comprehend.

"Kagami-kun thinks too much," Kuroko commented levelly.

Kagami's impetuous, presumably less-than-well-thought-of response got stuck in his throat at the realisation that it was probably the first time someone had ever said that to him.


	15. Kiss 013

Kiss 013

* * *

_Aida Sports Gym. _

Aomine Daiki regarded the signboard bearing those words thoughtfully. He knew this was where the girl with that strange scanning-ability was bringing the Seirin High basketball team for special training (thanks to Tetsu), though he had never been inside. Or outside for that matter; which made the fact he was there even more befuddling.

He had, in fact, no idea in hell how he ended up in this part of town.

It was 06.30 in the morning; a time of the day which should be exclusively reserved for sleeping, in Aomine's not-at-all-humble opinion. Yet, he was not. He was awake although there were two hours until morning practice (which he had but a half-hearted intention to attend), and the sun had yet to rise over the rooftops.

For some uncanny reason he had woken up unreasonably early, only to discover going back to sleep was not a conceivable option; he was inexplicably alert and restless. Henceforth, he had resignedly dragged himself out of bed and left the house, walking aimlessly along all but deserted streets until he found himself outside the entrance of the Aida Sports Gym at said, unearthly hour; a sports bag thrown over one shoulder and muscles tingling with the need to just _do _something_._

Scratching his neck, Aomine mulled the situation over for a second (or two, tops). While he still did not understand his legs' reason for bringing him to this particular gym, he shrugged and walked inside, figuring he might as well try it out once he was there.

The girl at the reception desk was a pretty blonde. She asked which part of the gym he wished to use in a pleasant voice while appreciatively taking in his broad shoulders and long legs – a fact which completely passed Aomine by, since something else had caught his attention. Something he glimpsed through the plastic window behind her. Something sending his heart speeding joyfully. Something right-down _thrilling_.

"Swimming pool," he mumbled absently, without tearing his gaze from the window as he pushed a handful of coins over the counter. He turned towards the changing rooms feeling pleasantly light-headed, a wide grin splitting his face.

"Excuse me," called the receptionist after him, voice tinged with slight indignation at his complete disinterest (presumably). "Swimwear is included in the prize. Won't you need them?" She held up a pair of black swimming trunks demonstratively.

Aomine shot her a blank gaze over his shoulder. _Good point_. It was not like he had packed any. He doubled back and snatched them from her hand, smirking lazily.

"Who knows."

The girl blushed.

**. . . **

The fact that it was so ridiculously early was not bothering him anymore, Aomine reflected as he sauntered through the gym, now clad in nothing but the loose-fitting swimming trunks, taking in the close to empty facilities. There was currently only one person apart from himself occupying the swimming hall. Namely, the source of the crimson flash he had glanced through the window.

Kagami Taiga was swimming determinedly along one of the lanes at the edge of the basin, oblivious to his surroundings and too deeply immersed in what he was doing to take notice of the tall boy leisurely walking up to the pool. Aomine eyed him with rising elation and another fluttery feeling he could not quite pinpoint, but it did not really matter as the sharp smell of chlorine was merging with that of excitement.

He was torn between the impulse to just dive in (_and_ _may the devil care what happens next_) and the idea of just _watching_. He settled with squatting at the deck just at the edge of the pool, body poised for either action, his eyes closely following the other boy's movements in an eagerly fascinated manner.

A powerful kind of grace marked Kagami's fluent way of moving in the water, body pushing forward swiftly with the help of strong, rotating arms and kicking legs, seemingly fueled by an undying force. He hardly slowed down at all at the turns, merely disappeared under the water briefly, only to resurface in a whirl of water in the next moment with renewed speed and power gained by a substantial push of legs against the wall. _He's fucking amazing_, Aomine noted hazily, his heart making a strange sort of flip-over.

He could not stay still, in the end.

The next time the Serin Ace made a turn, and started to swim towards the shallow part of the basin, Aomine inhaled deeply; and with one deliberate, feline motion he dove into the pool head first, barely making any noise at all as his body smoothly cut through the water surface. For a moment there was the displeasant sensation of chlorine stinging at his nose and eyes, but he was quickly adapting as he opened his eyes under the water, scanning the tiled floor and walls cursory before spotting the blurry outlines of his quarry through the wavy, turquoise stillness filtering his vision.

Any activity which involved water had always been among the Touou Ace's strong points. He was able to stay under the surface for long spans of time, and at this moment he was not even thinking about the fact he ought to breathe eventually. His muscles strained delightfully as he swam in the direction of whirling water and kicking legs, exceedingly thrilled – in an almost childlike way – at the thought of catching his prey unawares.

A few strong strokes later and he was right behind him.

Aomine slowed his pace as the other boy's feet suddenly made contact with the tiled floor, coming to a halt close to the ladder but staying in the water, back still turned to him. Aomine saw him grabbing the handrail, and grinned inwardly.

He rose in a heartbeat, breaking the water surface and regaining his full posture, casually throwing his arm around Kagami's shoulder in a way that felt vaguely familiar by now, and which at once brought their slick bodies unacceptably, wonderfully close to one another. He relished in the way he could feel muscles immediately tense under his arm.

"Hey, Kagami," he murmured into a reddening ear, already sensing the enthralling agitation vibrating in the very air around the red-haired boy. Or was it around him?

"Aomine."

Kagami's growl was predictably feral, yet hearing his name spoken in that threatening tone sent a pleasant tremor dancing along Aomine's spine. In the next moment his arm was being violently shrugged off, as the crimson-eyed boy whirled around in the water to face him. His eyes were not widened in shock as Aomine had expected though, but alive and sparkling with anger and some kind of intense emotion he could not read, but which positively set his heart in overdrive.

"That's my name," he offered languidly, hoping his slight surprise did not show.

Kagami glowered at him, chest heaving – he had obviously not completely recovered from his swimming session quite yet – like he just now remembered how to perform the act of inhaling and exhaling.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," he ground out between ragged breaths. "Is Kuroko's shit rubbing off on you or what?"

A grin threatened to split Aomine's face.

"Tetsu offered to teach me but I never quite picked up on it... My superiority can't be hidden that easily," he shrugged, half-heartedly attempting to mask his elation with indifference.

"Arrogant bastard... Why are you even here? There's never anyone here at this time..." Kagami trailed off, seemingly distracted by the Touou player's eyes which were giving his body an unblushing once-over.

Up close Aomine found it even more difficult to tear his gaze from the Seirin power forward, his longed-for rival, the goddamn true light – and his perfectly muscular, deliciously wet chest. He was all but licking his lips at the sight of it.

"I was just passing by," he said at length, slowly moving his gaze back to Kagami's frowning face. "Then I happened to catch sight of something I wanted, so I entered."

Although he said this with the air of someone commenting on the weather, his heart was quivering in agitation as he carefully watched the other's reaction. Kagami's cheeks were taking on a conspicuous shade of red as he flashed him a wary look.

"What..?"

Aomine was momentarily struck mute by the striking sight of an obviously uncomfortable, blushing Kagami accompanied by that low-voiced, almost _shaky_ demand. He settled for a smirk and would-be noncommittal shrug, as he swam up to the edge of the pool and gripped the handrail. He suddenly found it difficult to remain unfazed for some reason, his mind insisting on projecting memories of a certain rainy afternoon, and immodestly plastering them all over the screen of his inner vision. It did not matter that Kagami was wet for a completely different reason now; the way the water drops beaded on his skin was the same, the look in his eyes eerily similar to that he had glimpsed in that alleyway...

_Goddamnit_.

Aomine haphazardly shook his head in the hope of quenching the unnecessary amount of brain activity and extinguish the unsettling flashbacks alike, water splashing in all directions.

Including over a certain red-haired one.

"Bastard, stop that!" Kagami bristled, voice void of any previous uncertainty – a fact which left Aomine feeling almost relieved. Almost.

"Or what?" he drawled, having regained full control of his voice again. He shot the redhead a provoking glance.

Kagami narrowed his eyes, forehead darkening dangerously under his damp fringe as he exhaled slowly. From the way the muscles in his arms flexed beautifully it was safe to assume he was clenching his fists under the water. Aomine could tell Kagami's mind was done casting about for some sort of reason, and that his body was left in charge; making up for his brain's questionable reaction time thousandfold.

He managed to dodge the incoming attack by a hair's breadth; thanks to his insanely fast reflexes, only. They whirled around each other in the water, a feverish sort of energy pulsing through the air as the challenge took form, the rivalry rooted in the very core of their bones aching pleasantly, eagerly. Crimson eyes gleamed and Aomine rejoiced in the strength they radiated, the way they promised him endless, furious defiance and fights worth fighting.

Kissing was part of it.

Who initiated it was irrelevant at this point; the violent action of bringing their mouths together was more or less simultaneous. The swift movement, the aggressive roll of tongues and sharp, keen-to-bite-down teeth; it was all the creation of their unanimous insanity breaking its chains, once again. Aomine was wound up in deep, pulsating, primal lust. It might have been born out of an initial need to dominate, but such reason was drowned out by the much more tangible need to _touch_ everything that was the other boy. His hands roamed the expanse of his wet chest, neck, back, arms; tracing delightfully hard muscles everywhere.

_Fucking hell, I want it. _

In all honesty, he had been semi-hard since he first caught sight of Kagami's body in the water. As of late, the sheer thought of the Seirin Ace would ignite this certain flame within him, which had literally every part of his body burning in excitement. Needless to say, touching the slick skin of the incarnation of every indecent thought his mind had rolled around in recently brought a smouldering heat to his loins. If his lips had not been so sweetly preoccupied with kissing this physical embodiment of his fantasies, he would have moaned out loud.

Reality kicked imagination's ass, though.

Aomine liked the viciousness of Kagami's touch, how he almost angrily tugged his hair, raked his nails down his back hard enough to leave scratches, and pushed him carelessly against the tiled wall so that the handrail pressed uncomfortably into his back. It was a relief, being handled in a rough and straightforward way sans the complicated shit which insisted on creeping up on him more frequently lately. And it felt _good_. Aomine thoughtlessly slipped his hand under the water, letting it slide along the smooth inside of the redhead's thigh suggestively, before boldly grabbing _that_, which was warmly throbbing through the fabric of the sodden swimming trunks.

Kagami emitted a low, throaty groan at the touch, breaking the kiss with obvious effort. His breath was noticeably labored, cheeks deeply flushed and his eyes, although widened in alarm, were dark with hazy desire. Aomine squeezed him tauntingly, earning a shudder of pleasure from the other, followed by a determined shove in the chest.

Aomine was too stirred up to predict the other boy's course of action this time.

The red-haired teen took a step backwards, gaze sweeping attentively around the swimming hall and then, without admonition, he turned and set off along the same lane as earlier, water splashing wildly around him. Aomine's body immediately acted on the enigmatic magnetism which perpetually was drawing him towards alluring crimson. He tore after the Seirin Ace in the span of a heartbeat, not wasting any time pondering the unexpected move. He could not get enough of it after all; these impossible-to-foresee reactions and never-dying flame that was Kagami Taiga.

Eventually he lost count of how many laps they had swum.

Although the other boy should by all means have less energy than him, he tirelessly pressed forward in the water with an indomitable speed, keeping Aomine more than entertained as he was able to utilize his body's power to the outmost in order to keep up. He was completely enraptured by the physical effort and equally strong determination to win, just reaching the edge of the pool and preparing to turn, when a familiar voice floated into his fogged sphere of adrenalin and chlorine.

"Tigers are exceptionally strong swimmers."

Aomine broke his pace at the same time as Kagami, chest heaving and water trickling down his face, gazing in the same direction as the redhead. He could not say he was overly surprised at the sight of impossibly blue eyes observing them blankly.

Tetsu was seated at the edge of the pool in only pair of blue swimming trunks, feet dipped in the water. One could have thought he was inclined on doing some actual swimming, if it was not for the large book in his hands, over which edge he was currently peering at the two boys in the pool. He continued in a monotone voice.

"Tigers are often found bathing in ponds, lakes and rivers. Among fellow big cats, only the jaguar…" His eyes briefly flickered towards Aomine. "…shares with the tiger a similar fondness for and capability in water."

Out of the corner of his eye, Aomine saw Kagami narrowing his eyes at Tetsu and realised with an annoyed pang that he was mirroring exactly that manifestation of feelings. He quickly realigned his facial expression into one of indolence.

"Why the hell did you bring a book here for, Kuroko?" Kagami growled savagely. "I told you only to come if you were ready for some serious physical work-out, damnit."

Aomine had to raise an eyebrow at this. It struck him that Kagami probably had known the phantom player was around, or that he was going to be. It explained the sudden withdrawal earlier. He had to repress a grin. He was not foolish enough to believe Tetsu had just arrived, though. No doubt the little bastard had been enjoying the show since the very start.

Tetsu glanced at Kagami cursorily, before returning to reciting his book in the most toneless of voices.

"Tiger vocal communications include moans, hisses, growls, chuffs..."

"I'M TELLING YOU I'M NOT A TIGER!"

"...and like the other panthera cats, the tiger can _roar._"

* * *

**A/N**: I'm well aware my AoKaga is getting out of control; they just don't _want_ to dance along the T rated lane, or at all follow my original intentions. I'm sorry about that. A rating-bump might be in order, soonishly.


	16. Kiss 013 EXTRA

Kiss 013 EXTRA

* * *

Chlorine water drops rained over the pages of _"Social Behaviour of Big Cats" _as Kagami climbed out of the pool in a furious-slash-undignified manner, carelessly splashing water just about everywhere (possibly a little bit extra in Kuroko's direction). A handful of early gym visitors who were just entering cast the fuming redhead curious looks as he stalked off towards the changing rooms, slamming the door behind him.

Kuroko watched him retreat in silence, calmly running a hand over the page he had been reading from, which smudged the ink letters a little. Not that he noticed. A smile danced through his inner world. It wanted very much to break through, but was willed into submissive retreat by its ambiguous master, and so replaced by a subtle twitch of the lips.

Aomine was quite obviously fighting back something similar. Kuroko effortlessly recognised the uncontained excitement burning deeply behind his indolent mask, as he stood motionless in the water staring after Kagami while scratching his chin in a would-be pensive manner.

"Did you know, Tetsu," he drawled, "that tigers roar for both aggressive and nonaggressive reasons?"

Kuroko cocked his head to the side, surveying the dark-skinned boy's profile closely as he contemplated the question. He knew what he was getting at, but had no intention of revealing that insight.

"No, Aomine-kun. What kind of nonaggressive reasons would that be?"

His former light, however, possessed the very rare ability of sensing him feigning innocence.

"That's really a little strange you wouldn't know, seeing how you've been here all morning," Aomine stated offhandedly, finally tearing his gaze from the changing rooms door. His eyes were glazed with unabashed merriment and lust. "You must've heard it firsthand."

For a heartbeat, the phantom player's head filled with Kagami's endearingly throaty voice. The memory elicited mesmerizing mental visions of wet crimson clashing with soaked midnight blue; so demonically sensual it threatened to tilt the world off its axis, eliminate reasoning and overthrow that which was Kuroko Tetsuya's sanity forever. Granted, he could not linger at such wondrous indecency if he wished to keep the tingly hotness under his skin a secret.

"I'm not sure that was loud enough to classify as a roar," Kuroko commented simply.

Aomine raised an eyebrow, amusement glimmering within his sharp eyes.

"That so? I wasn't aware there was a volume limit."

"You need to polish up your knowledge on tigers, then."

The Touou Ace stared blankly at him for the briefest of moments.

In the next, he shook his head and grinned broadly. His entire face was alive with lustrous emotion and Kuroko once again found himself basking in the marvellously bright light his middle school friend had used to radiate; the warmth seeping into the very core of his bones.

Aomine Daiki's sun was shining through, and it was utterly and completely entrancing.

"Don't you worry, Tetsu. I'll make him roar, alright."


	17. Kiss 014

Kiss 014

* * *

A kiss speaks volumes.

Or so he had heard somewhere. Yet Kagami had no idea what the kisses he had been sharing with various bothersome persons lately were supposed to be about. No, he was clueless. And restlessly frustrated in a way not even exceedingly intense physical work-out would remedy. His brain cells refused to stay away from that brazen, sizzling hot core of forbidden thoughts hidden in the back of his head. They kept on crawling towards it, curiously peering at it, poking it with a stick...

_Why did they kiss me?_

Kagami shook his head, forcibly willing bloody-minded brain cells away from the off-limits area. He tried to focus on the task at hand instead; namely a kitchen counter encumbered with piles of vegetables and meat, ready to transform into a savoury curry.

The Seirin Ace had always found cooking relaxing. Since he was first taught the basics back in middle school, he had shown a natural talent at putting ingredients together and finding the right flavours. He had turned out to be an exceptionally fast learner, which was probably due to the fact cooking required nimble fingers, a certain skill and genuine _feeling_, unlike many other regular subjects at school. It was not all that different from basketball, in fact. What was more, the ability to cook came in really handy for someone living alone; someone with a huge appetite—and a brain which just would not cease raising hell. The sort of zenith state Kagami habitually entered once he held a cooking knife was being completely overthrown at the moment.

_Why did I kiss them back?_

Chopping away furiously at the onions, the redhead cursed under his breath. These thoughts wanted to demolish him, surely. He was hardly one for introspection, yet he could not help going just there, facing the deepest, most conflicted and embarrassing and _please-let-me-just-die _part of himself, repeatedly. The sheer existence of those demonic blue-haired bastards ate away at his consciousness.

_Why can't I get their goddamn lips out of my mind?_

Kagami's head spun as he used the edge of the knife to push chopped vegetables and pork into the already boiling stew.

_Why do I feel like I'm starting to—_

"Surprise!"

Alex's elated voice, and the door to the apartment flying open with a bang, startled Kagami's brain cells into dumbstruck silence. The sight meeting him as he turned around positively killed some of them off. His former master was standing in the doorframe, beaming. In one hand she held a convenience store bag, the other seized the collar of a very familiar blue-eyed little monster, who, naturally, was blank-faced. A dense layer of surrealism smothered Kagami's mind as he regarded the unlikely duo. It felt so out of place, he did not even feel self-aware about the tiger-striped apron he happened to be wearing (a gift from Alex he had refused at first, but eventually was sort of talked into accepting anyway).

"What—what are you doing here?" he asked lamely, too perplexed to be able to work up a proper anger.

"Obviously, we've come to visit! Aren't you delighted to see us?" Alex gushed, as though there was nothing strange at all about the situation, and certainly not as though she had been more or less banned from his apartment not two weeks ago. "I've brought gifts as well!" she exclaimed, pushing Kuroko forward demonstratively. "This one," she purred, switching to English for a moment, "I just happened to run into on the street and I thought it would be the icing on the cake to my brilliant forgive-me-gift!"

Kagami cast Kuroko a glance, stupidly, as though his vacant eyes would tell him whether or not Alex was telling the truth. Those hopelessly blue eyes were ever so unfathomable, ever so frustratingly beautiful. Kagami was overcome with a strange urge to _force_ the boy to show an expression—any would do— and had to will the feeling back, before he could process his former master's words.

"Forgive-me-gift?" he croaked.

Alex was back to Japanese.

"Yes! Because of my hopeless American overly-affectionate manners and all that, please accept my apology in the form of this." She held out the convenience store bag which turned out to be filled with beer cans. "Pure western scrumptiousness, with the addition of my sweet company _and_ the bonus prize I picked up."

At the last line, she placed her hands on Kuroko's shoulders and leaned forward suggestively, lips dangerously close to his pale ear. Kagami could not tell why, but he suddenly found her smile infuriating.

"Don't go decide stupid shit on your own..." he began, voice low with irritation, but it fell on deaf ears as Alex had already let go of Kuroko (which for some reason eased the knot in the redhead's stomach prominently) and was strolling into the kitchen, sniffing appreciatively in the air.

"Ahhh, smells like Taiga's cooking! Such perfect timing, wouldn't you say Kuroko-kun?" she smiled over her shoulder. "Let's share the beers over dinner, shall we."

"That sounds like a good idea, Alex-san," Kuroko said in a voice that was typically neutral and lacking in any judgement whatsoever. He cast Kagami a deadly innocent look before following the blonde into the apartment.

"Hey— I've told you already, don't go decide on your own!" Kagami protested, waving his hands about in lame objection. "Besides, we can't drink! We're—we're still minors, remember? Me and Kuroko... I mean."

Silence.

Kagami could feel his cheeks go annoyingly hot under the incredulous looks he was receiving. Both Alex and Kuroko looked at him as though he had just proclaimed he had got an A in maths.

In the next moment, they sauntered into his living room like they had not heard him speaking at all. Kagami regarded them sitting down on the cushions spread about the low wooden table in silent disbelief. Alex was already back to casually rambling about heaven knows what, while Kuroko nodded and hummed in affirmation every now and then, seemingly completely at ease with the situation.

"What are you standing around for, Taiga? I'm starving, let's eat!" the blonde woman exclaimed in the middle of a sentence, turning a pair of brightly expectant eyes towards him.

"Don't just invite yourselves, damnit," Kagami grumbled, rubbing his temples in irritation.

He was reaching for three plates in the kitchen cupboard nonetheless.

. . .

_Tsssst._

The sound of Alex pulling the tab on her tenth or so beer seemed a little distant to Kagami. His mind was suddenly prone on dulling certain sensations, while intensifying others. For example, the pile of dishes on the table was all blurry-borderline-invisible, while the colour contrast between Kuroko's sky blue hair and his white skin came off as overwhelmingly sharp.

"That was delicious Taiga, you're truly a brilliant cook," Alex sighed contentedly, rubbing her stomach as she sprawled over the cushions haphazardly. Kuroko, by contrast, sat still on his heels next to her, back straight and hands in his lap as he politely thanked his teammate for the food.

Kagami muttered something quite unintelligible in response.

"You alright, Taiga?" Alex asked languidly, taking a long draught of her beer.

The redhead hummed grumbly again, and the blonde woman chuckled.

Alex was quite obviously a seasoned drinker. Kagami had not drunk even a third of the amount the American had consumed, yet she showed no signs of inebriation whatsoever while he felt positively unsteady. In that, albeit being his master and kind of role model in life, she had failed to teach him even the basics, and he had a horrible feeling she was not regretting that one bit as she watched him now. Her eyes were glazed with amusement.

_Alright, am I?_

Granted, he was feeling quite light-headed, but in a pleasant way rather than disquieting, and his skin felt hot in a way which normally would have bothered him but presently really did not. He was not upset anymore. Rather, he felt oddly relaxed as waves of fuzzy impressions mixed with painfully clear ones lazily passed over him. He was unsure of whether he liked it or not, but he was quite sure Kuroko's eyelashes were unusually long.

Whether or not his shadow was affected by the alcohol was impossible to tell. He had evidently been drinking, seeing how there were a couple of empty beer cans in front of him on the table, yet that did nothing to alter his facial expression. Kagami thought there might be a reddish hue spreading under his pale complexion, but that could just as well be wishful thinking on his part.

Alex's train of thought was apparently going down that very same track.

"You look surprisingly composed, Kuroko-kun," she observed amusedly. "Who'd have thought the kitten would out-drink the tiger, hnn."

Kagami blinked, suddenly inexplicably angry. The throbbing irritation cleared the fog in his brain a little. He glared at Alex as he opted to put his beer can on the table in the most controlled way possible, and ended up practically slamming it down.

"He's—he's not composed," he ground out, slurring only a tiny little bit. "He might look like it... but he's not."

Kagami had no idea in hell why he was so sure of that, but the feeling was impossible to shake off at this point. Quickly glancing over at Kuroko, he was met with something unexpected: a flicker of genuine wonder within the heavenly blue. The redhead stared for a moment, heart jumping slightly, before averting his gaze. He just caught a glimpse of Alex's raised eyebrows as she cast the phantom player a pensive sidelong glance.

"Really? Then you must know him a lot better than me. Which, after all, isn't strange at all, seeing how you two have this epic light/shadow-thing going on," she commented lightly, gesturing towards the blue-haired boy. "Physically, he's awfully delicate though, which makes the fact he holds his liquor so well truly remarkable. A mystery, even. I like it. Don't you, Taiga?"

Alex put her beer down and shuffled closer to Kuroko as she spoke, casually wrapping one arm around his shoulders in a way which really did not match her coy smile. Something within Kagami contracted, and it hurt, _burned_, so badly he winced. The knot in his stomach was back, tighter than before and all he saw was that arm, resting shamelessly upon those slim shoulders, creating a physical contact between his shadow and his former master he could not help but be painfully aware of.

"Taiga..?"

Alex's questioning voice snapped him back to reality. With some difficulty, he tore his eyes from the terribly offending arm, shaking his head.

"What did you say?"

Alex face-palmed in an overly dramatic manner.

"I mean, do you like it as in—is he your type?"

"I—what?!" Kagami coughed. He did not particularly _want_ to understand what Alex was on about, yet the implication sunk into his mind with merciless rapidity, causing warmth to rush to his face, inevitably.

Before his former master could repeat the question, Kuroko chipped in.

"Aomine-kun," he offered simply. "He's Kagami-kun's type."

The statement froze the time for a vibrating moment, allowing all of them a heartbeat of contemplation. Although, in Kagami's case it was rather a heartbeat of utter panic. In his head, all that existed was a whirling pool of blurry emotions, with a pathetically small amount of lifeboats manned by cross-eyed brain cells swirling about.

"No, no—listen, that's..." he started haltingly, but was interjected by Alex's musing voice.

"Well, no denying Aomine Daiki's sex on legs," the blonde admitted flatly, "but he's not cute at all, so not my cup of tea. That endearing manager of his, however..." Something dreamy fluttered across Alex's face as she gazed upwards.

"Momoi-san?" Kuroko inquired innocently.

A happy sigh escaped Alex's lips.

"That's her perfectly pretty little name."

The redhead shook his head, feeling rather unsettled by the very theme of the conversation, yet relieved it steered in a different direction...

"So, Taiga—is _she_ your type?"

Kagami froze, mind swaying and lifeboats bobbing slowly, aimlessly floating about at this point. All he managed was a shake of the head as he incredulously stared at the blonde woman in front of him.

"No? Oh well, sorta makes sense," Alex continued, seemingly unconcerned about his lack of verbal response. "I always figured you wouldn't be into the cute type, after all. You're oblivious to their true appeal."

She let go off Kuroko's shoulders in order to create enough distance to properly scrutinize him, head wisely cocked to the side. A pang of odd relief hit Kagami's stomach as the arm was removed, undoing the knot but helping nothing with the flutter of unsettling emotions located higher in his chest. Kuroko sat motionless under the woman's estimating gaze, unnervingly unfazed.

"It takes a while for one to realise, but when you do—wow. This boy's got it. He's fucking adorable," Alex concluded matter-of-factly, then shrugged as though that was all there was to it.

For some reason it bothered Kagami immensely, this, that someone else had realised just that little something; how maddeningly cute Kuroko was. He had noticed a long time ago, and although he had never really allowed himself to properly acknowledge it, the fact remained; he had known, on some level. Now, when someone else was pointing it out so easily, tossing it out in space like a world-known truth, he felt stupidly frustrated. His skin burned. No matter how he tried, the feeling lingered, mingling strangely with the pleasant alcohol daze he was in.

Because were they not too close to one another, Kuroko and Alex?

The blonde was laughing now, as she looked between the two boys quizzically. Then, she leaned forward towards the phantom player again, mouth close to his ear, lips moving. Kuroko listened with his eyes fixed on Kagami, unmoving but for the corner of his mouth, which was twitching ever so slightly.

The red haired teen saw it with horrid clarity. Something in his chest was churning, yet he could not look away. Alex's lips so intolerantly close to Kuroko's skin, almost touching. Her playful smile as she lifted her hand, gingerly grabbing a strand of silky blue hair, letting it run between her fingers. All the while, his shadow was regarding him intently, unblinkingly.

Kagami stared back, transfixed, hurting in that insufferably incomprehensible way. He had no name for it, no means to describe the swirling blackness their closeness ignited in him, this heavy sense of panic sans reason; yet he knew that if he did not do something about it, he would surely drown in it. Or suffocate, since he could not breathe. In the end, it was a simple act born out of survival instinct.

_I need to move._

He reached forward, across the table, overturning more or less all of the beer cans in the process without noticing—and grabbed Kuroko by the front of his shirt. With one deliberate tug, he had pulled the slender boy away from the dangerously alluring female nest he was about to be trapped in, and into his arms.

It should have felt awkward, but it did not.

It felt so shockingly real and satisfying to possessively wrap his arms around that delicate frame, and bury his face within vanilla-scenting, silken locks of blue. Kuroko did not protest; he complied to the treatment with the same perfunctory calmness as everything else, snuggling into the embrace in quiet acceptance. Kagami could not tell why, but the simple closeness, the feel of Kuroko's body against his, eased the aching within and he could feel that awfully dark emotion fading away, finally. It did not stop him from sending his master a menacing glare, though.

Alex was grinning, eyes wide with ill-concealed mirth.

"So, Taiga was into the cute ones after all."

If there was a nagging need to object to that statement, it was obliterated the moment he felt Kuroko's lips on his. Through the misty warmth of alcohol and adrenalin, Kagami rapidly lost track of reality. Although his shadow did nothing but gently press his lips against his, characteristically straight-forward, the sensation caused a tiny bomb of heat to detonate within his heart. The repercussions of it pulsated through his veins, causing him to strain and want with a surprising force. It did not matter that they were right in front of Alex, he just wanted to drown in evasive blue and warm lips and forget about all else.

To his chagrin, the kiss was over rather quickly. Kuroko broke it reluctantly, yet remained nestled close to his chest, peering at him from under his slightly dishevelled bangs. His cheeks were actually flushed, quite adorably so, and within his eyes danced something Kagami could only read as affection. His heart skipped a beat. Blushing, he pressed Kuroko's enthralling little face against his chest, needing to escape those suddenly eloquent eyes. In the next second, he wondered if it was a mistake. His heart was back to bolting in total disgrace, and he was sure his shadow must hear—and feel—it very clearly. Kuroko lay still though, seemingly comfortably close to his light and not at all bothered by the weirdness of the situation.

Kagami inhaled shakily and glanced up at Alex. Of course, she was looking as though Christmas had come early, leaning back on the cushions with an insufferably smug smile plastered all over her face. Kagami could tell she was about to say something—and dreaded it terribly—but before she had the chance to do so, Kuroko stirred.

"In fact, Alex-san," he said evenly, while gingerly untangling himself from his teammate, and getting to his feet. "It's more like Kagami-kun is my type."

Alex raised her eyebrows in a genuine display of surprise. She was obviously not expecting such bluntness, such earth-shattering honesty, from Seirin's indecipherable phantom player. Kagami on his part, should have expected it, but was momentarily lacking the ability to comprehend such a complex, yet shockingly simple, statement. All he could do was staring at Kuroko wordlessly, hearing nothing but the roaring of his own heart. He assumed his shadow was bidding them farewell as he saw him bow and his lips move, but the sounds were all drowned out. He could only see. And as he saw that small back walking towards the door he could only feel—this certain ache.

An inescapable ache sinking its teeth into his flesh as the apartment door shut, slashing ruthlessly against his bones and carving its name deep into his heart.


	18. Kiss 015

Kiss 015

* * *

While on his way home from practise one cloudy Wednesday evening, Aomine Daiki received a succinct text message from Kuroko Tetsuya, containing nothing but a location; a street basketball court not far from Seirin high school.

Heaving a resigned sigh, the Touou Ace player flipped his cell phone closed as he contemplated the implication of the text. He was annoyed, naturally, but it was not the reason his heart jerked slightly in hesitant expectation. Why, because this was Tetsu. It meant there was no telling what the fuck was going on, but that was the thrill of it, the part he really liked. He could not help but be inevitably drawn towards his enigmatic games and soft lips, hopelessly, forever intrigued.

So, he went there.

"Why the hell did you call me out here, Tetsu?" he demanded while sauntering up to his former shadow, who stood motionless on the pavement with his back turned to him, his hair taking on a deeper shade of blue in the fading evening light.

"Good evening, Aomine-kun," Kuroko offered tonelessly, acknowledging the taller boy's presence by a slight turn of the head, casting him an inscrutable glance over the shoulder. His hands were in his pockets. "You came."

"Whatever," Aomine muttered, repressing any lingering irritation at being ordered around. He knew all too well that letting his temper flare would only serve to amuse Tetsu, and he was not about to play into his hands today.

Certainly not.

"Tell me again, just why am I here?" He urged, somewhat impatiently, as he came to halt next to his old friend and teammate, giving him a sidelong glance. The boy was looking blankly ahead, something indefinitely elated etched into his impassive features as he nodded in the direction of the basketball court across the street, from where the thuds of a ball, sneakers against asphalt and occasional shouts could be heard. Aomine followed his gaze towards the familiar sounds. Even though the sky was getting darker, and fifty yards or so separated them from the two teenage boys playing, he had no trouble recognising them.

The dark-haired, slimly-built shooting guard, and the notoriously tall and muscular redhead were both casually dressed in sweatpants and tank tops, clothes fitting for a game of street basketball, and they were profusely transpiring, Aomine assumed, as their skin sort of gleamed in the soft illumination of the street lights.

It was something peculiarly captivating about their play.

Himuro Tatsuya had this unmistakably fluent way of moving, albeit true to the basics, he made it look as graceful as a coolly fluid dance as he moved with the ball, which contrasted perfectly with Kagami Taiga's flaming intensity. On the one hand the play was distinguished by fervent fighting spirit, on the other subtly marked by an odd kind of harmony. They played against each other, yet they were weirdly in sync, attacks and defensive plays interchanging smoothly, almost floating into each other. It was this rare kind of compatibility only people who knew each other's movements and habits by heart were able to reach. Aomine knew the phenomenon. He had once been a part of it.

His stomach made this idiotic kind of flip-over as he reluctantly tore his eyes away from the two players, glancing at Tetsu out of the corner of his eye. His face was predictably devoid of emotion, but it was irrelevant, since Aomine sensed it anyway. The same vibrating heat licking his insides emanated from Kuroko's seamless skin, cutting through the chill evening air; coaxed out of the earnest desire to play basketball. This pure, gargantuan love for the game was as essential as oxygen to Tetsu, what he was all about, from the start. Aomine knew it so very well. It had once created an unbreakable bond between them, a spark of passion which had proven impossible to douse, no matter how much wind it was exposed to.

The Touou player shrugged, slightly uneasy, as the strangely hot waves of emotions passed over him. Several things about the situation bothered him, and unsettling blasts from the past were not even the main thing. No, that had to be the fact that he still could not get his head around Kuroko's reasons for calling him out here. Then, there was this other, far more subtle thing—he reluctantly admitted to himself—this coldness hovering in the back of his mind.

Slowly moving his gaze towards the court again, that vaguely chilly sensation stirred within his chest anew. It was something with the picture in front of him he could not quite grasp, something slightly troublesome. Aomine narrowed his eyes. Granted, he was an idiot on a multitude of levels, but that did not mean he did not, at least sometimes, _try_ to understand stuff. He was fairly sure it was not the (breathtaking) sight of Kagami Taiga playing basketball that was the source of the unpleasant chills. So, he concluded, the Yōsen player must be it.

_Kagami's old friend. _

Aomine winced inwardly, quite inexplicably, as his brain repeatedly tripped over that realisation. He knew enough of the Yōsen shooting guard and his past in America to be aware of his connection to Kagami. He had just never given it much thought, seeing they had never played against each other, nor did he view him as a real threat. He still did not. It was more the thought of him and Kagami hitting it off well enough to actually meet up in private that was somehow... surprising?

No.

Headache-inducing.

Nerve-twisting.

Mind-bugging.

Extremely fucking annoying.

"There's this Chinese myth, in which the Azure Dragon of the East and the White Tiger of the West are eternal rivals."

Aomine shook his head, Kuroko's voice temporarily startling him out of the hellish reverie, and turned towards his former teammate, scowling.

"What—?"

"Himuro's name means dragon," Kuroko supplied calmly, as though that would be explanation enough for his offhanded statement. Aomine could feel his eyebrow twitch.

"Yeah, so what? Cut the crap and get to the point already," he growled warningly.

Finally, his former shadow turned to look up at him. Aomine immediately perceived the hint of mischief, glittering just underneath the layer of unassuming mindlessness on his face. It was everywhere, dancing over his pale skin, velvety lips, the small nose, in the shadows cast by his extraordinarily long eyelashes. In his beautifully blue, oval-shaped eyes.

The breath hitched in Aomine's throat. This small demon with deceivingly angelic features was activating his trouble-radar, no kidding; but he also awoke a primal urge within Aomine; to just come out and _claim_ him. Had he not been so wound up in the conflicted situation, torn between Kagami's magnetic presence just across the street and whatever-hell that other thing meant _and_ the tingling misgiving Tetsu was up to no good—he would have just fucking kissed him on the spot.

"Himuro _Tatsu_ya," Tetsu emphasized matter-of-factly, tilting his head to the side. "It's rather fitting, come to think of it, what with the Dragon opposing the Tiger and all."

_Huh? _

"Why're you telling me this?" Aomine asked in a low voice, unaware of the way his fists clenched when he spoke. The chilly feeling scraped at his consciousness more impatiently now. It wanted entry, no, in fact, it was already seeping in; wisps of black smoke filtering through his internal walls, swirling around his heart, caressing it with cold, misty fingertips...

Kuroko gave him a long look. Then he blinked, slowly.

"No reason. I just thought Aomine-kun would find it interesting."

Aomine did not reply at first, preoccupied as he was in his search for a mental defensive weapon, something which would effectively eliminate the strange, coldly gripping emotion unfolding in his chest. It seemed his stores of dulling ammunition had been raided though, and he was left with the raw need to just _act_.

"I can't fucking do it, Tetsu," he ground out finally, unsure himself of what exactly it was he could not do, even as he unceremoniously dropped the sports bag he had been carrying over his shoulder to the ground. In the next moment, he was heading towards the basketball court and illuminating crimson, automatically falling into his usual perfunctory-yet-predatory kind of gait. Which was, in fact, something of a feat, seeing how his muscles were more or less screaming with the need to up the pace and match the speed of his heart.

Himuro noticed him first. He paused in the middle of what doubtlessly would have evolved into the rumoured mirage shot, giving the tall Touou player a vaguely surprised look as he lowered his arms and came to a halt just in front of him. Kagami, who had been focused on nothing but stopping the assault, was slower on the uptake, and it was not until he followed his opponents gaze, split eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion, that he noticed Aomine standing under the hoop.

And, there it was.

That head-spinningly enticing look of wariness flashing within Kagami Taiga's red eyes, that momentary intense reaction to his presence, _that fire_. Aomine had to muster up all his will power not to leap at him instantly, but to savour that moment of panicked confusion he loved to invoke in the Seirin Ace. (Among other, equally fantastic reactions, of course.)

"Fancy meeting you here, Kagami," he droned, looking past Himuro Tatsuya as though he did not exist. Which, might as well had been the case for that matter, as far as Aomine was concerned—in that instant all he could see was this mesmerising trail of sweat down Kagami's chest, dampening the front of his tank top and causing it to cling to his skin in quite the... suggestive manner.

"Aomine," came Kagami's guttural response as he fixed him with eyes now defiantly sparkling, sending a familiar tingle of pure dripping arousal down Aomine's spine. _Gods, why do you have to be so insanely sexy, bastard?_ He half-agonized, half-purred inwardly as he met the Seirin power forward's heated stare dead on, lips curling in an irrepressible smirk.

"Aomine Daiki, hnn." Himuro's interjecting voice was surprisingly calm, laced with a hint of cold indifference which prickled Aomine's skin in a totally annoying way. "Atsushi has been mentioning you."

The Touou player reluctantly shifted his gaze to the dark-haired shooting guard, taking in his stoic stare and laid-back posture. Himuro Tatsuya was not intimidated.

"Murasakibara," Aomine said lengthily, drawing out the vowels in a studied display of boredom. "I could care less about what that gluttonous brat has to say."

"Understandably," Himuro offered levelly, one corner of his mouth tilting gently upwards. "He's a bit of an arrogant ass. Although, if rumour has it right, none of you so called 'Miracles' are anything but. Least of all you," he added simply, regarding Aomine unblinkingly for a moment, before looking to Kagami. "You didn't tell me the infamous monster of Touou was a friend of yours, Taiga."

_Taiga?_ The cold fingers hovering over Aomine's heart suddenly squeezed the pumping organ tightly, causing a weird, contracting pain to spread within his ribcage. It irked him to no end.

"He's not," Kagami's low, frustrated voice cut through the tense atmosphere. "He's just—".

"That's right," Aomine interjected. Pushed along by the nameless chill haunting him, he took a swift step sideways, slid up behind Kagami, and wrapped one arm around his broad shoulders, while smoothly snaking the other around his firmly muscular waist. For a beat, he was distracted by how bloody hot it felt, the thin cotton fabric plastered to sweaty, warm skin under his fingers, but then Kagami's dangerously hardening muscles draw his wavering attention back to the mission at hand.

Namely, getting Himuro Tatsuya off his damned high horse.

"I'm not a _friend_," he murmured darkly, leaning his chin on Kagami's stiffening shoulder as he spoke, locking eyes with the snotty brat who used Kagami's first name in such an irritatingly casual way. Surprisingly, the Seirin Ace did not move. Aomine surmised he must be petrified with shock as he could feel him positively trembling in agitation, but remained rooted to the spot all the same; the ever so slightly taller boy's arms still securely wrapped around his body in a demonstratively possessive manner.

The basketball Himuro had been holding dropped to the ground, the soft bounces resounding across the court. His eyes were widened in brief, yet evident, surprise.

Aomine would have relished at the sight—was it not for noticing the ring Himuro wore around his neck in that split of a second. He was very familiar with that ring, as an identical one was perpetually present around a certain redhead's neck, although he had just put it down as a sort of (sexy) fashion statement on Kagami's part. In retrospective, a chain with a ring admittedly did seem sort of symbolic, but it had honestly never occurred to Aomine it would actually hold any deeper meaning until this very moment. The cold fingers were hammering an icicle straight through his heart as possible explanations as to _why_ Himuro and Kagami were wearing those identical rings ruthlessly slashed through his mind.

As though he felt the black force of energy suddenly directed at the small inanimate object at his chest, Himuro lifted his hand and clutched it, eyes sweeping warily across Aomine's face. Then, as though struck by sudden realisation, he smiled vaguely as his stoic expression floated back into place.

"What's the matter all of the sudden?" he asked, lifting a decidedly sardonic eyebrow. His fingers absently turned the ring in his chain, spinning the silver links slowly, familiarly...

Something within Aomine snapped. A hot surge of anger caught hold of him, and he could feel the very air around him darkening, and go very, very still. He was not shaking in agitation, nor gritting his teeth or breathing unevenly. No, he was eerily calm. It was just like that time he knocked Haizaki out cold; the source of his anger became clearly outlined against blurry surroundings and everything else turned blank, quiet. A dwindling part of his consciousness recognised the impending danger. He would not be able to stop himself. Letting go of the redhead's shoulders, he moved towards Himuro, distantly aware that there was only one way to go about it...

Kagami's mouth brusquely crashed against his, kissing him hard.

Aomine was effectively prevented from leaping forward, his arms falling limply to his sides in a very ragdoll-ish manner. Stupidly. Just like that, the rage fell away, and he wondered why on earth he had wanted to move towards Himuro, when those scorching lips were all over him, _here_. The destructive urge was ridiculously easily obliterated as Kagami kissed him so ardently, his tongue lavishly mapping out every nook and cranny of his mouth, teeth dangerously close to biting down as he scraped them warningly across his lower lip, nibbling a bit too hard. When Aomine opted to shift, back or forth he was not sure, he just needed to gain some dominance, the sides of his face were firmly grabbed by large warm hands, holding him still, close enough for their foreheads to touch even as the kiss was broken.

"It's—it's alright," Kagami murmured between strained breaths, his hands pressing a little bit firmer, flaming eyes unwavering as he looked straight into Aomine's. "Brothers," he continued hoarsely. "Not by blood, but that's what we are. Tatsuya's my brother."

Then, he took a step back, letting go of the Touou Ace reluctantly, as though unsure if hell on earth would break lose if he did so—which was a needless concern. Aomine Daiki was rendered harmless. In the span of a heartbeat, Kagami's lips had miraculously shattered the ice and melted the frosty fingers, now dripping warmly over his madly beating heart. Completely and utterly thunderstruck with this world-changing turn of events, he was unable to do anything but gape, incredulity swimming in his eyes.

_You... you will never really cease to amaze me, will you?_

The who-are-you-and-_what-the-hell_-have-you-done-to-Kagami-Taiga stare quickly caused the red-haired teen to fall back into a more familiar pattern, cheeks flushing and his eyes shooting embarrassed flashes of light as he noticed that Himuro, too, was looking at him in a similar kind of way.

"Wh—what?!" he stuttered-yelled angrily, glaring at them both in apparent frustration, cheeks turning even redder.

"Nothing," Himuro coughed, blatantly failing to stifle a laugh. "I just never thought you'd say that... That was, uhm, very dramatically put, Taiga."

Aomine could not repress a low chuckle, forgetting that he was not supposed to particularly like Himuro using Kagami's first name. At this point, the redhead's blush rivalled Satsuki's from that time in middle school when she had discovered his stash of X-rated magazines. All scowls and impossibly red cheeks, the Seirin Ace stood shaking in quiet agitation, embarrassment written all over his being, and it was all Aomine could do not to let out a fucking _whimper_ of appreciation at the sight. In terms of utter adorableness, he decided, Satsuki could not hold a candle to Kagami.

Elation flickering through his chest, he bent down and picked up the basketball from the ground, casually rolling it up his arm. The act caught the attention of both the momentarily stumped Kagami and the still-snickering Himuro, and Aomine set the ball to spin masterly on his fingers, a wide grin splitting his face.

"Well, then," he drawled somewhat softly, casting a glance over his shoulder, knowing _he_ was looking, too. "Wanna play?"

His words brought about a look of wary excitement to Kagami's face (causing Aomine's heart to jump agitatedly), while Himuro, by contrast, regarded the tall Touou power forward coolly.

"What're you suggesting?" he asked placidly. "You might be a basketball genius or a miracle or whatever, but you're truly nothing but an arrogant fool if you think you can take on the two of us alone."

Himuro's haughty tone did not bother Aomine anymore. For some reason, nothing really did right now. He was past botheration. He was past everything but the overwhelming will to just play and breathe. Why, he felt like Tetsu's lame reasoning was rubbing off on him and he quite honestly did not give a toss.

"I'm not alone," he retorted calmly, feeling rather than seeing Kuroko's small silhouette emerging from the shadows; sensing rather than hearing his soft footfalls across the court. "Hey, Tetsu," he murmured as the phantom player unassumingly slid up next to him. "Let's get this party started."

* * *

**A/N**: I'm writing again :] and, I actually adore Himuro! I was just obliged to side with Aomine on this one, really.


End file.
